Someone Else's Girl
by RossLover2012
Summary: Dallas is Austin's best friend; Ally's Dallas' girlfriend. But Austin and Ally understand each other more than anyone else. They start to get closer than ever when Ally makes Austin keep her musical passion a secret because Dallas wouldn't approve. What happens when Austin starts to realize he may just be falling for someone else's girl? Kinda OOC. Author of Mayday. Give it a try!
1. Chapter 1

Introduction:

School has been out for about a week now, and I realized that all I've done is chores while my parents work all day. It's not as exciting as I thought it would be and hopefully that's just because something exciting is about to come. Which I'm sure it will. You see, my friends never seem to disappoint when it comes to random acts of craziness, causing me to have the best summer ever. It's happened a few times already.

I have two best friends, Dez and Dallas. I've known Dez since we were seven. Our parents used to take us to the same babysitter, and I guess we would always hangout with each other, ignoring all the other kids and only sharing crayons with each other. We were inseparable.

And then Dallas, I've known him since eighth grade; we're all in eleventh now. He transferred from some school in Utah, (we're in California) he joined the baseball team and we realized how much we had in common, so we started hanging out, and have been best buds since.

And then there's Ally. She's Dallas' girlfriend. They have been going out for; I'd say a year and a half now, so that's how long I've known her. She's really awesome and fun to be around, so usually the four of us hangout. She's so easy to get along with and one of the only girls that I can be friends with and not feel awkward about being myself around them.

I'm actually kind of surprised that those two have lasted this long. Ally's quiet, and sweet and into music. Dallas is just loud, obnoxious and into video games. Ally and I have had better conversations about music than her and Dallas. Ally's the only one I can talk to about my passion for music because my father thinks it's a hopeless career, Dez doesn't seem to care, and Dallas thinks it's stupid. But Ally knows how I really feel about it.

**Chapter One:**

"_You like mis-matched socks with Polka Dots. You like your pizza cold, I think that's hot."_

I wipe the sweat off of my forehead and shove the lawn mower back into the garage. The sun is shining bright and it's extremely hot. The rays burn my bare back as I bend down and grab my shirt off of the ground. I hold onto it and walk into my empty house. It sucks being alone all day and having to take care of myself, but at least it gives me practice for when I'm out on my own in a few years.

I throw my shirt over the back of one of the dining chairs in the kitchen and walk over to the refrigerator. I open up the freezer first and stick my head in it. It feels nice, but doesn't satisfy me enough. I grab one of the freeze pops off the top shelf and shut the door. I go into my living room and sit down on the sofa. I'm about to take a bite when I hear my cell phone ringing. Now where did I put that?

I jump up, setting down my refreshment on the coffee table and jog back into the kitchen. My phone is lit up on the counter. I grab it and look at the caller I.D, its Dallas, "Hey man." I say.

"Austin my man, what's up?" He asks.

"Oh you know, just mowed the lawn. What about you?"

"Not much. Dez, Ally and I were going to go grab a bite to eat at Mel's, want to come?" He asks.

"Of course I do!" I tell him.

"Alright, meet us there in ten."

"See you." I tell him and hang up.

I run upstairs quickly and put on a red tee shirt, and throw on my black converse. I spray myself with some fresh deodorant before running back downstairs and out the door. It's about a five minute walk from my house, so I don't bother driving.

Mel's is the most popular hangout/diner in town, and they have the best cheeseburgers ever. We spend a lot of our summer there just hanging out and eating good food, what else could be better? I guess a lot of things could be better… But that's okay.

When I get there, they are already at a table on the far side near the open glass doors. Dallas waves me over and I take a seat between Ally and Dez, "What's up?" Dez asks.

I shrug, "Just got done with yard work."

"That's shocking." Ally says with a sweet smile.

"I know right." Dallas says.

"We already ordered for you." Dez says.

"Ah you guys know me so well!" I say happily.

"Yeah we do." Dez says, taking a sip of his water.

The waiter brings us our food then and we all start to eat. The conversation stays short and causal, all of us just focusing on our food. Dez got the nachos, Dallas got a hot dog and Ally got the same as me; a juicy bacon cheeseburger. It's literally the best burger I've ever had.

"Did you hear about the music contest at the beach at the end of summer Austin?" Ally asks, breaking the silence.

I set down my burger and wipe my face with one of my napkins, "No I didn't." I tell her, interested in what she has to say.

"Well it's this contest. Well more like a talent show type of thing. Anyways, you have to perform an original song and then if you win you get a thousand dollars, and I heard every year a lot of music producers hide in the crowd to scope the place out." She says. She then picks up her pickle, which I think is her favorite part of the meal, and takes a bite.

"Oh wow! That's awesome." I tell her.

"Well, you can count yourself out of that Austin." Dallas says.

"Why?" I ask him.

"You can't write songs!" he says and laughs.

"I can too!" I say in a whiny voice, even though it was true.

"Whatever you say…" Dez says.

"Stop it guys." Ally says, "You can do anything you put your mind to." She says.

"Why do you always have to talk like you're a teacher or something?" Dallas says.

"Why do you always have to be a jerk?" She asks.

Dez and I glance at each other and then go back to our food, trying not to get involved in what could escalate into a bad situation fast. Dallas just looks at her and shakes his head. He picks up his garbage and walks over to one of the bins. Ally sighs and finishes her pickle. I finish my burger and put my pickle on her plate. She looks up at me and smiles, picking it up and taking a bite.

"What are we doing now?" Dallas asks when he returns.

"I have to go back to Sonic Boom and finish my shift." Ally says.

"Of course you do." Dallas says. I really hate how he talks to her sometimes.

"Whatever. Bye Dez, bye Austin." She says as she gets up and walks away.

"So what do you guys want to do?" Dallas asks.

"We could hit up the beach and go surfing!" Dez says.

"Yeah we could!" Dallas says happily.

I shrug, "I don't know, I'm not really in the mood for surfing today, but you guys go ahead." I tell them, standing up and picking up my stuff.

"Are you sure?" Dez asks.

"What are you going to do then?" Dallas asks.

"I'm sure, and I don't know, I'll find something." I tell them.

We say our goodbyes and I head towards my house. I decide to take the boardwalk home, it's quicker that way. One of the many different stores there happens to be Sonic Boom, right at the end of it. As I walk by, I hear some noise coming from the upstairs window. I stop and listen as hard as I can through the crowds of people. It's music, definitely… maybe a piano? Either way I suddenly become very interested.

I've been in Sonic Boom plenty of times, but with Dallas while we were getting Ally or annoying her on her lunch break. But I've never been in there by myself and I've never got a chance to just look around and see what it's like. I decide that this is a fine time to do just that.

I walk in, causing the door to ring its tiny bell above it. There are a couple of people here and there, looking at different instruments they probably don't even plan on buying. I notice Ally's father working at the counter, which I find odd because when he's working that usually means Ally doesn't have to be here, and she told us she had to finish her shift.

He notices me and waves at me with a smile. I wave back and walk over, "Hey Austin, what brings you here without Dallas?" He asks.

"I wanted to change it up a bit, seeing as how I've never really looked around." I tell him.

"That is true. Well there is a lot to see! Just got a nice new shipment of guitars yesterday, they are in the back corner." He says happily.

"Awesome! But where's Ally?" I ask him.

"Oh, it's her afternoon off so she's up in the practice room." He says.

"Practice room?" I ask him.

"Oh, it's just upstairs. We call it the practice room because we have a woman that comes and gives different lessons up there. Ally just loves to hang out up there and play piano." He says, but then his face drops, "Actually… I don't think I was supposed to share that with anyone."

"You're secrets safe with me Mr. Dawson." I tell him.

"Thanks Austin!" He says.

"Could I go talk to her?" I ask him.

"I don't see why not. But just tell her you found that room on your own!" He says with a smile.

"No problem." I say, giving him thumbs up.

I walk over to the stairway and jog up it. The door is slightly ajar and I hear the music that I heard outside. I walk over to the door and peek in. Ally is sitting at a grand piano, softly pressing the keys, playing and singing a very soft and slow song. I didn't know she played the piano, or sang. And she's perfect at both. The way she moves her hands on those keys makes it look so easy, and it's like she was born to play, and then her voice; wow.

I lean against the door a little too far and it opens up, causing me to crash onto the floor, catching myself on my hands. I startle Ally so much that she jumps up off the piano bench and covers her mouth so she won't scream. I push myself up in a push up position and stand up. I put my arms up in protest, "God Ally I am so sorry." I tell her.

She crosses her arms and puts on one of her faces I've only seen her use against Dallas, "Were you listening?"

I push my hand through my messy hair and rub my neck, "Uh… Maybe…" I tell her.

"Ugh!" She groans loudly and sits back down on the bench.

I shut the door behind me and walk over to her, leaning against the side of the piano, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you, or upset you, or anything." I say.

"How did you know I was up here?" She asks.

"I heard you from outside, and I just kind of went snooping."

"No one knows I like to sing or play the piano, not even Dallas." She says.

"Seriously, not even Dallas?" I ask, shocked. She shakes her head and then puts a lose curl behind her ear before she makes eye contact with me. She frowns.

"Why doesn't he know? You guys have been dating a while." I say.

"Because you know how he is about music." She says.

I sit down next to her on the bench, and she seems startled by my closeness, but I don't care, "Ally, I know how he is about my music, picking on me about wanting to make it big and all that because that's just how he is, but I doubt he would do that to you!" I tell her.

"I showed him a song I wrote once and he completely brushed me off. If it's not about him, he really doesn't seem to care." She says, turning to face the piano.

"Well that's the stupidest thing ever, because after what I just heard, he's really missing out on a really amazing part of you." I tell her, still facing her.

I can see a slight smile appear on her lips, and then vanish quick, "Thanks Austin, but promise me you won't tell anyone, and I mean anyone."

"Ally, I" – "Austin, please." She interrupts.

"I promise." I tell her.

"Thank you." She says, pressing a few random keys.

"I do have one more question though." I say, facing the piano like she is.

"What's that?"

"Why did you tell us you had to work when you really didn't? Was it because you wanted to do this or is there more to it?" I ask her.

"It doesn't matter." She says.

"I think it does." I say, pressing one of the keys. She stays silent, and I know that means that conversation is over.

I stand up and rub my neck again, "I guess I'll leave you alone now. I hope everything's okay." I tell her.

"Thanks." She says with a kind smile.

I turn around and leave her there, walking down the stairs back into the store and I go look at the guitars that her father told me about. I don't know why it bothers me so much that she won't tell me what's going on. I thought we were good friends. Maybe it's just something she really doesn't want to share.

I check out the yellow and white electric guitar; it's amazing. I pick it up and start to strum it lightly, humming the song to myself. I wish I could buy something like this, but its way too expensive. I'll just have to stick with my electric guitar.

"Nice isn't it?"

I jump back, startled. I turn around and see a grinning Ally, "I got you back!" She says.

"Ha ha how funny." I say, setting down the guitar.

"You like it?" She asks.

"I love it." I tell her, "Too bad I can't afford it."

"You could if you enter that contest and win the thousand bucks." She says.

"Yeah, in my dreams I could. I can't write songs to save my life." I tell her.

"That's too bad." She says. She then turns around and walks away, back up to her practice room. I can't help but wonder why she even came back down.

**Author's Note: **Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I'm pumped to be writing again and not have writers block on this story. I think it's going to be a good one! At the beginning of each chapter i'm going to post a random song lyric from R5 or Austin and Ally, just cuz (:


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

"_I know it's on when I can't stop myself from watching you move." _

It's the morning after I made the promise to Ally not to tell anyone about her musical abilities. As I roll over onto my stomach to avoid the sun from shining bright in my sleepy eyes, I can't stop thinking about Ally playing the piano and singing. I can't believe that not even Dallas has seen or knows that side of her after all this time. It's pretty bad that she can't even be comfortable enough with him to show him that side of her.

I almost feel bad about knowing something that he doesn't even know, but it's not my fault that I stumbled upon it, and Ally's my friend so if she wants me to keep something a secret, I own it to her to keep my word right?

I hear my cell phone start to ring from my bedside table. I roll over and answer it, "Hello?"

"Hey man, what's up?" says Dallas.

"I'm just lying in bed still." I say.

"Well get off your lazy ass and come to the beach with me, Dez and Ally." He says.

"It sounds like a good time, but I don't know if I have any chores to do yet." I tell him.

"Then go look, obviously." He says.

"You're a pain in the ass." I tell him.

"And you are too, that's why we're best friends." He says, causing me to burst into laughter.

"Whatever man, I'll meet you there." I tell him, hanging up.

I jump out of bed and shower as quick as I can. I throw on a striped tank top and a pair of tan shorts. I put some gel through my hair and let it go wild. I grab my backpack and go downstairs. Thankfully I didn't have any chores to do. I grab a granola bar and head out the door and walk towards Mel's where we usually meet. Sure enough, they were all at our usual spot waiting.

"It's about time." Dallas says.

"Yeah right, I only took like ten minutes." I say, punching him in the shoulder.

"Let's go." Dez says.

The beach seems busier than usual today. It seems like everywhere I look there is a huge crowd of people playing volleyball, or some other sport, or running around with their dogs. We find a spot and set down our stuff in the sand, "What are we doing?" Ally asks.

"I'm going swimming." Dallas says, taking off his shirt.

"So am I!" Dez says, mimicking Dallas.

"Okay, I'm going to tan then." Ally says. She grabs her towel out of her tote bag and lies it down, and then she takes off her dress, revealing her yellow bikini. I've seen her in plenty of bikinis but for some reason, I have to pry my eyes off of her.

"What are you going to do?" Dallas asks.

"I guess I'll join you guys." I tell them, tearing off my shirt and setting it next to my bag.

I stand at the edge, letting the waves hit my feet. I turn and look at Ally; she's scribbling in a notebook, and completely ignoring her surroundings, until her best friend Trish walks over, joining her in sun bathing. I don't really know Trish that well, but I know that her and Ally are very close, and Trish is always staring at Dez.

Dallas comes over, blindsiding me and shoving me into the water. When I come up for air I grab him by the shoulders and bring him under. Dallas and I are almost the same build, but I'm a lot stronger than he is. It's always been like that.

When we're done swimming, we walk back over to Ally and Trish. Dallas sits between them; Dez sits next to Trish and at the other end by Ally. I lie down on my towel and try to dry off, shutting my eyes from the sun, "Why not?" I suddenly hear Dallas say.

"You know how I feel about parties." Ally replies.

"It's a beach party! They are awesome." Dez says.

"Come on Ally, it won't be that bad." Trish says.

I roll over and face them, "What are we talking about?" I ask.

"Ed's throwing a big beach party at the other side of the beach tonight. It's going to be awesome." Dallas says.

Ed is a senior at school, running back of the football team, one of the most popular guys in school. He's been inviting Dallas to his parties since freshman year, and then Dallas just brings us all along, even though we're never technically invited. But Ed is always too drunk to care about our presence. I usually go because they can be fun and if I don't go Dallas ends up dragging me anyway.

"Yeah, and Ally doesn't want to go." Trish says.

"Don't be such a downer." Dallas says.

"Those parties are stupid." Ally says.

"But you should go to support your best friend!" Trish says.

"Come on, please." Dallas says.

Ally rolls her eyes, "Fine, whatever."

"Okay, who's driving?" Trish asks.

"I will." Dallas says.

"Okay, we can all meet at Mel's at eight." Dez says.

"Okay sounds good." Trish says.

"Are you coming Austin?" Dallas asks.

Ally looks over her magazine at me, listening for a response, I shrug, "Sure, why not."

**Later that night…**

I throw on a v-neck white shirt, and my button up dark blue shirt over that, but I leave it open. I put on some shorts and my usual converse. I'm hoping this girl Anna will be at the party. She's really hot and on the cheerleading team. I noticed her eyeing me a lot towards the end of school, and this will be the first time I've seen her since.

I walk downstairs and into the kitchen. My mother's doing the dishes, and my dad must be in the other room. I walk over and grab an apple from the bowl on the table. I lean against the counter beside her and take a bite.

"You look nice, what are you up to tonight?" She asks.

"Going out with Dallas, Dez and Ally like usual." I tell her.

"Okay, have fun." She says.

I kiss her on the cheek and throw out my apple. I go outside and my father's cleaning up the grill. "Where are you headed son?" He asks.

"I'm meeting up with the guys at Mel's." I tell him.

"Alright, have fun." He says.

That's how my parents always have been. They never ask what I'm doing exactly, they only care who I'm with. I don't know they just really trust me, or don't care that much. I want to say the first one, but it could go either way.

I get to Mel's right at eight, and notice all of them at our usual spot. I walk over and greet them; I'm not the only one that decided to look nice tonight; Ally looks especially beautiful in a blue right sun dress, and Trish has a tight cheetah dress on. Dallas doesn't seem to care about his appearance; he's wearing the same thing as earlier. And Dez, well he has his own type of wardrobe.

"Are you ready?" Dallas asks everyone.

"Ready." We all say in unison.

We all follow Dallas to his pickup truck. Dez yells shotgun as soon as it's in sight. I punch him hard in the shoulder before getting in the back with Trish and Ally. Ally sits awkwardly in the middle, and we're all squished together. I'm really glad that the party isn't too far away, or this would get very uncomfortable.

We pull onto the road and I can already see the huge bonfire in the distance. We park a little ways away and I jump out as fast as I can. I stretch out my arms dramatically, "I get shotgun on the way home Dezhole." I say.

"Okay whatever man." Dez says.

Dallas walks over to Ally and wraps his arm around her shoulder as we walk over to the huge, loud crowd. It's only twenty after eight and everyone's gone wild. But that's what happens at Ed's parties. I really want to know who buys him all of his alcohol; he must have a lot of connections.

I walk over to a group of guys I know from school with Dez. We all talk about different sports and things and it gets boring fast, so I walk over to the coolers. I open up one and it's completely full of beer. The next one I open, there is mountain dew and Pepsi. I grab a mountain dew. I just don't feel like drinking tonight.

Through the crowd, I notice Anna. She's standing around with one of her girl friends. She looks my way and I smile and wave at her. She doesn't do anything at first, but then I guess she realizes it's me and waves back, then she starts to walk over. I walk towards her to meet her halfway.

"Hello Austin." She says.

"Hello Anna." I say.

"How's your summer going so far?" She asks.

"It's going pretty good. What about yours?" I ask.

"Not bad. This party is pretty cool." She says.

"Yeah I guess." I say.

She walks over to a cooler and grabs a beer, opening it and chugging it. I have to say, that is sort of a turn off right there. I don't really like girls who drink a lot, or that can down a beer like that. I take an awkward sip of my mountain dew and shove my other hand in my pocket. Thankfully Dez comes over then with one of his friends and starts up a conversation. Anna grabs another beer and walks away a few minutes after. Well I guess any chances of us happening are gone now.

I walk around for a while, talking with different people here and there. After a while goes by, I take a walk by myself towards the shore. It's dark and slightly windy; a light chill in the air. But the moon reflecting on the ocean is really beautiful.

I'm not really in the party mood anymore, so I take a seat in the sand, letting the wave hit the tip of my shoes. I watch and listen to the waves until I hear footsteps behind me. I look over my shoulder and notice Ally walks towards me. She stays silent and takes a seat next to me.

I just look at her, studying her face. She has no expression, and she's staring at the water, "Are you okay?" I ask her.

"There were reasons that I didn't want to go to this stupid party." She says.

"Like what?" I ask.

"I hate it when Dallas drinks." She says, keeping her eyes on the water.

"Is he drunk already?" I ask.

She nods, "He's a jerk when he's drinking."

"Did he do something to you?" I ask.

"No, but sometimes I'm afraid he could. That's why I always keep a distance from him after he's too far gone."

"So that's why you were bummed about going earlier. Why didn't you just stay home?" I ask her.

"Trish likes to guilt me into stuff." She says.

"Yeah, Dallas does that to me too. I'm really not into parties anymore."

"I'm glad you aren't, or I wouldn't have anyone to talk to right now." She says, turning to face me now.

"You can always talk to me, you know." I tell her.

"I know." She says.

"Hey Ally!" We hear a voice from behind us; it's Dallas.

We both stand up and turn to him. He stumbles over to us, barely able to stand. Well I know that I will be the one driving home tonight, "What are you guys doing?" He asks.

"Nothing, we were talking." Ally says.

"Why did you leave me?" he asks.

"You already know why. We've talked about this before. I just want to go home." She says.

"Oh come on Ally, why are you so boring?" He asks.

"Hey man, I would just stop while you're ahead." I tell him.

"Whatever." He says, walking away from us.

"Do you want me to drive you home real quick? I'll come back for the others after." I tell her.

"You'd do that?" She asks.

"Of course I would." I tell her.

"Thanks Austin." She says.

We walk together back to the truck. She hops in the passenger seat as I start the engine. The silence is getting unbearable after only a few minutes, so I turn up the radio really loud. It's one of my favorite songs lately; Mirrors by Justin Timberlake. I start nodding my head a long to the music. When I look over, Ally is doing the same thing without noticing what I was doing.

"I don't want to lose you now; I'm looking right at the other half of me." I sing out loud.

She turns to me and smiles, singing the next part. Before I know it, we're in front of her house. We sang along to all of the songs that the radio station played, at the top of our lungs. It was the best car ride I've had in a long time. I get out and walk with her to her front porch. We are both still smiling and humming the rest of the song that was playing when we got out of the truck.

"Thanks for the ride home Austin, it was really sweet of you." Ally says.

"No problem at all. Thanks for singing with me." I tell her.

"No problem! It was so much fun." She says, giggling.

"Yes it was." I say and smile down at her.

Eventually everything goes quiet and she clears her throat, "Well, goodnight Austin." She says.

I look at her for a moment before saying, "Goodnight Ally."

I turn around and walk back to the truck when Ally stops me, "Austin?" She says.

I turn around fast and look at her, "Yes?"

"Thanks for accepting the music part of me." She says.

"I could say the same thing to you." I tell her with a grin. She gives me a big smile back before turning around and going into her house.

I hop into the truck and blast the radio back to the party. I feel like I'm high on happiness all the sudden, and I can't tell why.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

"_I wish someone could help me. This is just so unhealthy."_

I grab the biggest coffee mug we have and fill it up to the top. I got no sleep last night because it took me until five this morning to get everyone to go home. Dallas just continued to drink and drink, and Dez found some girl he flirted with the whole time, and Trish was with a group of friends so nobody wanted to go home, except me. And since I was out numbered, I had to sit around and wait, which was awkward and not fun at all.

By the time I finally got home and in bed, my parents woke me up a few hours later to tell me that I have to clean the entire house because my aunt and uncle are coming over for dinner. It wasn't planned at all; they always just drop the bomb on us that they are coming over the morning of. They are visiting here for a couple of days and my mother decided that she was going to cook a fancy lobster dinner to impress them. Which I don't mind because it's one of the only times I get to eat lobster which I like, but that also means that I'm responsible for making the house look spotless because if we don't impress my aunt and uncle the world may just end! Well that's how my parents make it seem like anyways.

I decide to start in the living room, because that's where we will be before dinner. I set my coffee mug down on the table and start removing the cushions on the sofa. I get the vacuum out of the closet and start vacuuming every spot I see in and around the frame. When I'm done with that, I do the same thing to the love seat, and then the chair. By the time I'm done with that I'm already sweating. I take the last sip of coffee and realize I'm still tired, but I should probably wait a little while before I drink more. My heart is already racing from all of the caffeine.

After an hour or so, I'm finally done with the living room. Next is the dining room, which I don't have too much to do. The most I have to do here is set the table with our finest dining plates and utensils. That's also a plus of having them over. We get to use the nice stuff, which my mother will never let us use any other time.

A few hours later, I'm almost done with the house. I only have one room left; the kitchen. I finish up some dirty dishes that are in the sink, wipe down all of the counters even though I know my mother will make them messy again later, and then clean out the refrigerator for the second time this week. When I'm finished, I grab a water bottle and then sit down at the bar.

My pocket starts to buzz, so I pull out my phone and it says Dez, "Hey Dez, what's up?" I ask.

"I'm so tired!" He groans.

"You're telling me! And I had to just clean my whole house!" I say.

"Dude, you're life sucks." He says.

"Actually not really, it could be a lot worse." I say.

"You want to go to Mel's with me?" He asks. I check the time on the oven, it's almost four. Dinner won't be until about seven, so I have plenty of time to do something.

"Sure, I just have to be back in a few hours because my aunt and uncle are coming over for dinner." I say.

"Lucky! You get lobster!" He says.

I laugh, "I know right."

"See you." He says and hangs up.

**Later at Mel's…**

"That party was so fun." Dez says, shoving a handful of fries into his mouth.

"It could have been better." I tell him.

"Yeah, did you have any fun at all?" He asks.

"Not really."

"Dallas was freaking out when Ally went home." He says.

"I'm sure. But he really shouldn't do that to her."

"I know right. He's such an ass when he's drunk." He says.

"I know it."

"I haven't talked to him today. He's probably still sleeping." Dez says, laughing at the thought.

"He probably is."

Just then, Trish and Ally walk in together. They notice us and Dez waves them over. I get up and grab two chairs from another table and put them between Dez and me, "Hey guys." Trish says, taking a seat next to Dez.

Ally takes a seat next to me and smiles. Her hair is up in a messy bun, and she's wearing a yellow tank top and blue shorts. She doesn't have any makeup on, but she's still glowing, "Hey Austin." She says.

"Hey Ally, want some fries?" I ask, pushing my basket towards her.

"Don't mind if I do! Aren't you hungry though?" She asks, taking a couple.

"Yeah but my aunt and uncle are coming over for dinner so I really shouldn't eat much." I say.

"Yeah, he gets to eat lobster!" Dez says.

"I've never had it." Ally admits, dipping a fry in my pile of ketchup.

"Ah you have to try it sometime." I tell her.

"So I heard Ed got in big trouble this morning." Trish says.

"He did? Why?" I ask.

"He came home this morning really drunk. Usually he goes to his friend's house but he couldn't so he decided to go home and his parents caught him. So I doubt he will be having any more parties anytime soon." She says.

"That's fine with me." Ally says.

"It's fine with me too." I say.

"You guys are no fun!" Trish says, grabbing one of the fries.

"I'm really fun actually!" I tell her.

She rolls her eyes but smiles, "Whatever you say Austin."

"You're more like a maid, man." Dez says.

"Hey, it's not my fault my parents make me do a bunch of chores. At least I get an allowance and I'm not broke like you." I say.

"Oh burn!" Ally says. Trish and I burst out in laughter, but Dez just frowns and eats another fry.

"How do you pay for all of these fries you eat then?" Trish asks.

"He had a tab!" I say.

"Wow, I hate you guys." Dez says.

"Maybe if you did the chores your parents told you to do, you'd get your allowance." Ally says.

"Okay whatever! New topic!" he says.

"Well, there's a movie night at my house tonight and I was going to invite you guys." Trish says.

"I'm in!" Dez says.

"I would if I didn't have that dinner." I say.

"I know; it's all good. You can come another time, for sure!" She says.

"Well, we should get going. I have to stop at Sonic Boom." Ally says, "Bye Dez, Bye Austin." She says.

"Bye Ally." I tell her.

"Bye guys!" Trish says, grabbing the rest of Dez's fries before leaving.

"Aw man!" He says, looking at his empty basket.

"Here" I say, shoving the rest of mine over to him.

"I'm better now!" He says, causing me to have a laughing fit.

[][][][][][][]

My mom has been slaving in the kitchen since I got home, and my father's been drinking a beer so he can deal with all of my uncle's stories about his thriving business. This uncle is my father's brother, and they've always sort of had this sibling rivalry. My brother thinks it's silly that my parents own a chain of mattress stores. He thinks that selling real estate is the best thing on earth, but it's really not. I'm pretty sure a lot more people buy mattresses over a really expensive new home. But maybe down in Florida they don't.

"They are going to be here any minute!" My mother announces from the kitchen.

"So?" I yell from the sofa.

"So make yourself look presentable!" She says.

"I look fine." I mumble, straightening up my dress shirt. This is the most ridiculous thing ever. Why do we have to wear fancy clothes to our own home for a stupid dinner?

When the door bell rings, my father hides his beer and greets them. They come up to me and hug me and give me the usual, 'you've gotten so big!' spew, and then I go into the kitchen to help serve food with my mother. She walks over to me and tries brushing my hair out of my face but I shove her hand away, "Mother, please." I say.

"Fine, put this out on the table." She says, handing me a platter with two lobsters on it.

I go into the dining room and set it down. I go back in the kitchen and grab the pitcher of water. I pour some in every glass slowly, wasting time until they all come in. I take my seat at the other end of the table and the meal begins. I keep quiet unless I'm asked a question, and I try to eat my lobster as clean and proper as I can, which isn't that easy.

"How's school going Austin?" My uncle asks.

"Very well." I tell him.

"Are you getting good grades?" My aunt asks.

"I'd like to think so." I say.

"Good good!" My uncle says happily.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" My aunt asks.

I shake my head and she sighs, "That's too bad! You are such a handsome young man!" She says.

I just smile and try hard not to roll my eyes. After a long boring conversation about business, I start picking up our plates. My mother is in the kitchen cutting up pieces of pie when the door bell rings. I look at my mom with question and she shrugs, taking the plates out of my hands, "Will you answer it?"

I nod and walk out of the room. I unbutton the top button on my dress shirt, tired of the way it feels. I open up the door and I'm shocked when I see Ally standing in front of me.

"Ally… Are you okay?" I ask, looking her up and down.

"I'm fine." She says, but I don't believe her.

I shut the door behind me and walk out onto the porch, standing next to her. I study her face until she looks me in the eye, her cheeks pink and damp, "What happened?" I ask.

"Dallas and I had a fight at Trish's." She says.

"What happened?" I repeat.

"He was just being stupid about how I left the party and I explained to him why I don't want to be around him when he's drinking and then he started yelling at me in front of everyone so I got embarrassed and left and I didn't know what to do or where to go and then I thought of you and I just needed someone to talk to." She rambles on. She notices my dress shirt and smacks herself in the forehead, "And you are having a dinner that I'm probably rudely interrupting!" She says, sighing.

"It's okay! I needed to get out of there anyway. I told you I'm always here for you. I'm sorry about Dallas. Just try not to listen to him, he always gets mad over the stupidest stuff, but he'll get over it. I really wish he didn't act like that towards you." I tell her.

"Thanks Austin." She says, and before I realize what's happening, she moves in and hugs her arms tight around my torso. I freeze at first, but then I wrap my arms around her shoulders cautiously. She smells like strawberries and a tropical island mixed in one. She stays like that for a long moment before breaking away, and looking up at me.

"I'll let you go back to your dinner. Thanks for letting me babble." She says.

"What? Are you going to be okay?" I ask.

"I'll be fine." She says, turning around and walking away. I stand there, frozen and watch her leave. My hearts racing at an abnormal speed and a thousand thoughts are going through my brain. The electricity I felt when she hugged me, it shouldn't have been there, it can't be. I shake my head at myself and walk back into the house. I sit back down on my spot and my family looks at me.

"Who was that?" My mother asks.

"It was just Ally; she had to tell me something." I say.

"Does she not have a cell phone?" my father asks.

I just shrug and that's the end of that conversation. I pick up my fork and play with my pie, suddenly not interested in eating. I stare into space as I can still feel Ally's small petite body pressed to mine. We've never hugged before; ever.

"Are you okay?" My mother asks.

I smile, "I'm fine, just full from all that lobster I guess."

"It was delicious!" My uncle says. My mother smiles big then. She loves when she gets compliments about her cooking, and it's a big deal coming from my uncle.

After another long while of talking, my aunt and uncle say their goodbyes. They tell us they can't wait to come over for dinner next year, and we act like we're super excited already, but in reality, it's extremely stressful and we are happy it's only once a year.

When they leave, I help my mother and father clean up and do the dishes. They thank me for being such a nice patient son, and they reward me with no chores for the next couple of days, which is fine with me. I've had enough chores today to last me a few months.

I walk upstairs to my room and tear off my dress shirt and pants. I throw on a white tee shirt and keep my boxers on. I jump into my bed and feel like I could sleep for days, until I remember that hug between Ally and I. Why did she hug me? And why did I feel the way I did when it was happening? I've hugged plenty of girls, but I've never felt that way before. I need to forget about it, she's Dallas' girl and I respect that. It's not like I have feelings for her or anything. I'm just all crazy minded because of my long day, and lack of sleep, and all that coffee. Yeah; that's it.

**Author's note:**

Thanks for all of the reviews so far! I've had a hard time posting stories and getting the feeling that they will never get as many reviews as Mayday so hopefully this story will be a hit! I wrote this chapter this morning in less than an hour. It just sort of came to me. And i really love it. I hope you enjoyed it!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four:**

"_In my crazy mind, I'm with you all the time."_

I drag myself out of bed when I realize it's already noon. I shower quickly and get dressed, dragging a long like a zombie. I have no ambition to do anything today, so I'm glad that I don't have any chores. But as I sit down in my kitchen I realize I have absolutely nothing to do.

I could call up Dez, or even Dallas but I don't really feel like being around them right now. Dallas has been pissing me off with the way he's treating Ally, and I'm afraid if I hang around him that I'll say something he won't like. There's no reason not to hang out with Dez, but I just don't want to listen to his goofy antics today.

I eat a couple slices of toast and decide that I'm going to go for a walk. I throw on my pair of red converse and head outside. I take the long way to the boardwalk, watching the high wave's crash over swimmers and surfers. I think I'll go surfing next week; I haven't been in a while it seems like.

As I start to walk by the stores, the only place that keeps popping into my head is Sonic Boom. Should I go visit Ally and see how she's doing? Or would that be weird? I don't even know if she's working. I walk by once, not looking in. But by the time I get to the ice cream place, I turn around and start to walk by again. I stop in front of the door and look in. Ally is at the front counter, leaning over it and reading a magazine, not paying attention. I go to open the door but hesitate. I start to walk away again and realize that I must look like a giant idiot. I take a deep breath and walk in.

She looks up at me when she hears the bell. I smile at her and she smiles back. I walk over to guitar aisle to make it look like I came here for a reason. I could buy a new strap for my old beaten up acoustic maybe, or some new strings, anything to make it look like there was a reason other than her that I came in.

I rest my hand on my chin and look over the different guitar straps when I feel something standing beside me. I turn my head and look down, and Ally is staring in the direction I was looking, "What are you looking for?" She asks.

"I… Uh…" I stutter.

She looks at me and crosses her arms, smirking. I look around and see the box of guitar picks on the counter and walk over, "I've come to buy one of these!" I say, pulling out a yellow one.

She walks over to me and laughs, "Well, there free…" She says.

I can't stop my cheeks from turning a dark red, "Oh." I say, twirling it between my fingers.

"So why are you really here?" She asks, taking her spot at the cash register like earlier.

"I wanted to see how you were." I admit, leaning against the counter towards her.

"I am perfectly fine." She says, "But thanks for checking on me. It's sweet of you."

I shrug, "What can I say? I'm sweet as sugar." I say, grinning.

She rolls her eyes, "Oh, wow. That was cute." She says, laughing. She closes her magazine and puts it back on the rack next to me, "So what are your plans for the rest of the day?" She asks.

"I have no plans." I say.

"That's too bad. No chores for you to do?" She asks.

"Nah, my parents are giving me a couple of days off because I cleaned so much yesterday for the stupid dinner." I say. She just nods in response.

"How long are you working?" I ask.

"I'm not really working. My dad's just upstairs going over inventory and I told him I'd watch the store for a few minutes." She says.

"Oh how nice of you." I tease, elbowing her in the shoulder.

She slaps my shoulder back gently, "I know, I'm so nice!" She states loudly, causing us to have a laughing fit.

"So anyways, since you were looking at guitar stuff, does that mean you have one?" She asks.

"I have an old beat up acoustic." I tell her.

"I love old guitars! They are so cool." She says.

"I can show you mine sometime if you want." I tell her.

"I'm not doing anything right now." She says happily.

"Would you like to come over and see it then?" I ask.

"I'd love to! Let me go tell my father that I'm leaving." She says. I watch her run upstairs quickly, and after about twenty seconds she's back, "Ready." She says.

[][][][]

We get to my house and I bring her into my basement. It's a completely finished basement, and our entertainment room. She looks all around, amazed by the room, "I've always wanted a basement like this!" She says.

"Yeah, it's pretty awesome." I say.

"You have beds down here too?" She asks curiously, eyeing the twin mattresses in the corner.

"Yes, for sleepovers." I tell her, she laughs.

I walk over to the other corner and grab my guitar off of the stand. I walk back over to Ally and hold it up, "Here it is." I say.

"It's so nice." She says, looking it over, "Will you play something for me?" She asks.

"Uh… I've never played for anyone." I admit.

"Well you have to, for me?" She pleads.

"Oh-okay." I say, suddenly nervous.

I walk over and take a seat on one of the beds. She follows me, sitting beside me. "I just learned this song." I tell her.

"Okay." She says, smiling.

I start to play the beginning of the song, humming along. She smiles when she realizes what song it is, "Can you sing it?" She asks.

I shrug, "Everything you heard is true, everybody knows I'm hung up on you." I say.

"I love that song." She says.

"So do i." I say, smiling at her.

I play a few more chords and then set down my guitar, "Austin, you should really do that contest." She says.

"I can't write my own songs." I tell her.

"I bet you could if you really tried." She says.

I shake my head, "I've tried."

"Well, I can help you." She says.

"You can?" I ask.

"Yes, I love to write songs, and we could come up with a really good one and you'd win for sure! Then you could buy your dream guitar." She says.

"That'd be amazing." I say.

"Then it's official! We can practice here whenever, and in my practice room at Sonic Boom." She says.

"That sounds awesome!" I say.

"But I don't think we should tell Dallas." She says.

"Why?" I ask.

"Because you know how he feels about music and I don't know how he'd react to this." She says.

"But I don't know if I should keep a secret from my best friend that is involving his girlfriend." I say cautiously.

"It's not like we're doing stuff together or cheating, we're just writing a song together." She says.

"I don't know…" I say.

"Well, it's the only way. Do you want to win or what?" She asks.

"I do." I tell her.

"Then it's a deal?" She asks.

"Yes, deal." I say.

She smiles, "Awesome!"

"When do we start partner?" I ask.

"We will start tomorrow, bright and early at sonic boom!" She states.

I blink a few times, staring at her, "Did you really just say bright and early?"

"Yes why not? I always do the best song writing in the morning." She says.

"Oh, I don't think this is going to work out." I say.

"Austin!" She says, punching me hard in the arm.

I raise my arms up in defense, "Just kidding!"

"You better be Moon!" she says.

We spend the rest of the afternoon goofing around. I play random songs and Ally attempts to play a few chords that she knows. It was the most I've laughed in so long, and it was just easy and fun to be around her. When she realizes it's almost five, she has to go.

"I'll walk you home." I tell her.

"You don't have to do that, really." She says.

"It's no problem." I tell her.

"Well actually, I'm going to just go back to Sonic Boom so you can walk me there." She says.

"Okay cool." I say.

I leave a note for my parents on the table that I'll be right back, seeing how they will be home anytime now from work. When we get to Sonic Boom, Dallas is standing at the counter. Ally tenses up next to me as we walk over to him. He throws a magazine back onto the shelf and gives us a curious look, "What's going on here?" He asks.

"We ran into each other on my way here." She says.

"Hello Dallas." I say.

"Hello bro." He says, fist bumping me.

"Well I'm going to head out." I say, grabbing a guitar pick.

"Goodbye Austin." Ally says.

"See you Austin." Dallas says.

I walk out of the store and walk up the boardwalk. I'm suddenly not in the mood to go home, so I decide to walk over to one of my favorite parts of the beach. The waves are calm as I sit down in the sand, making different swirls with my finger. I stay like this for awhile, lost in my own thoughts. I keep thinking about me and Ally; how she's helping me write a song for the contest, and how she still wants to keep it a secret from Dallas. Why does she even stay with him if she can't tell him anything?

Before I know it, the sun is setting. I watch as the sky changes into a beautiful orange and pink sky. The sunsets over this beach are the best I've ever seen. When the sun disappears, the darkness is lit up by the almost full moon. I pick up a pebble and throw it into the ocean. I stand up and head back home. I go the way I came. When I walk by Sonic Boom, I see the practice room lit up even though they are closed. I wonder if Ally is in there. She's probably with Dallas though, so I walk by like it's nothing. Even though in reality, something about it bothers me.

When I get home, my parents are sitting in the living room, drinking glasses of wine and having what looks like an intimate conversation. I wave at them and walk upstairs to my room. They are still so in love and sometimes it makes me want to throw up, but other times I find it really nice. They were high school sweethearts and they've been married for twenty years. I want a love like that, something that will last and then years from now we can still be in love like when we were teenagers.

I lazily fall down onto my bed, staring up at my ceiling. My phone suddenly goes off, just once, and I pull it out of my pocket. It's a text message; from Ally.

**Ally: **Hey Austin, reminder for you to come to Sonic Boom bright and early (:

**Me:** I know. How could I forget?

**Ally: **Looking forward to it!

**Me: **So am I (:

And that's where the conversation ends. I smile as I set my phone down on my night stand. I get up and change into my pajama's, deciding I should head to bed so I can get up in time. I get to spend all morning with Ally, just me and her, and I'm way too happy about it. Why? This is Dallas's girlfriend, my best friend's girlfriend. But he doesn't treat her like he should, and she totally deserves to be treated like a princess, because she's incredible.

This isn't happening; I'm not falling for her. I can't be…. Can i?


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five:**

"_You're the best I've never had."_

I knock on the locked door of Sonic Boom, nervous that I'm too early or this was just a joke to get me to wake up at six in the morning. Finally, after my third knock, I see Ally run down the stairs from the practice room. She stops in front of the door, waves, and then unlocks it.

"I'm sorry! I didn't hear you." She says.

"It's okay. I was starting to think you ditched me." I say, smirking.

"I would never! I mean, you woke up this early for me!" She says.

I laugh, "I sure did."

"Well let's get to work." She says, motioning for me to follow her.

I follow her up the stairs and into the practice room. She takes a seat at the piano and pats the spot next to her. I take my seat, and stare down at the keys, "So how does this work?" I ask.

She laughs, "Well, we sit here and brainstorm for a while." She says.

"And then we magically have a song?" I ask.

"Oh you're silly Austin. Do you really think song writing happens in a day?" She asks.

"Yes." I say.

"Well it can. But we are going to write an amazing song, in which we have no idea what it's about or anything, so I feel like this is going to take some time." She says.

"That's fine with me." I tell her.

"Okay." She says.

She starts to play a few chords. It's not a song that I've heard, I feel like it's something she just added together and it sounds really good. I watch her as she continues to do that, shutting her eyes and getting lost in the music. I study her face and smile at her. She opens them up a few moments later and catches me looking at her. I turn my head to the piano fast and clear my throat, "That's really nice. Did you write it?" I ask.

"I threw it together just now." She says.

"Wow, you're really talented." I tell her.

"Thanks." She says, smiling at me, "Well do you want a slow song, or a fast paced song?" She asks.

"Well, I think fast paced, it will match my personality better and will be easier for me to perform." I tell her.

"Good idea." She says.

She plays a few chords again, but they don't sound up beat at all, "That kind of sounds, depressing." I say.

"Oh whoops." She says.

She plays it in a higher key and then looks at me for approval. I nod, "That's better."

I suddenly yawn, being overtaken by the zero amount of energy I have. All I did last night was toss and turn, thinking about this morning. And then I woke up at five, and it's only six thirty. Ally looks at me and rolls her eyes, pressing a key, "I'm sorry I'm so boring." She says.

"Are you joking? You're not boring at all. I'm just tired." I tell her.

"Dallas thinks I'm boring." She admits.

"Well he's an idiot." I tell her.

She laughs, "Well thanks. We can go get some breakfast after we think of some ideas." She says.

"Awesome!" I say.

After about an hour and half a notebook later, we have nothing. Ally sighs with frustration. She rips out another piece of line paper, crunches it up in her hand and throws it over the piano. I just look at it, smirking. She turns to me and turns pink, "That was a cute fit you just threw." I tell her, laughing.

She punches me in the shoulder, "Shut up! Are you ready for some pancakes?" She asks.

"When aren't I? Where are we going?" I ask.

"I thought we could just go to my house and make some. It's cheaper." She says.

"That's fine with me." I tell her.

I've only been to Ally's house a few times, and it was normally with Dallas to pick her up. We get onto her front porch and she unlocks the door. Her father is already on his way to Sonic Boom so we get the house to ourselves. I follow her to the back of the house and into her kitchen. Her kitchen is one of the nicest ones I've ever seen. It's _huge_ and full of beautiful marble counters and what looks like every kitchen appliance ever made.

"Wow." I say.

"Breathtaking, I know." She says, laughing.

"Uh, it kind of is." I tell her.

"It's my favorite room in my house." She says.

"I can see why." I tell her.

"I'll get the pancake stuff together," she says, then points, "You can grab a bowl for me in there."

"Okay." I say, walking over and grabbing it.

I set it down on the counter and watch her gather everything together. She grabs a pan and sets it on the stove, and then brings over the stuff, "How good are you at making pancakes?" She asks.

"Well, my mom usually makes them for me…" I say.

She rolls her eyes, "Okay, so I'll just put it all together and I'll let you attempt to cook one." She says.

"Oh how thoughtful of you." I say, laughing.

I take a seat at her kitchen table and watch her put everything together. She has the same focus she did when she was playing the piano. I really like that about her; everything seems so important to her and she never loses focus. She's almost; perfect.

"Okay day dreamer, come here." She says, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I walk over and stand next to her in front of the over. I stare at the bowl full of batter and notice the black lumps "Are those… Chocolate chips?" I ask; my face lighting up like a little child that just went into a candy store.

"Yes, yes they are. Now, make a pancake." She says.

I take the ladle and scoop up some batter, gently letting it pour into the pan. It makes a perfect circle, and starts to cook. I wait a little bit and then flip it over perfectly. I turn to Ally and grin, "Well would you look at that." I say.

"You've surprised me, Moon." She says.

After I cook myself about six pancakes perfectly, I watch Ally make hers. Of course, they come out just as good as mine, if not better. She turns and grins widely at me and I roll my eyes. I grab my pancakes and sit at the table. I add the syrup and butter and wait patiently for her to join me. She walks over and takes a seat next to me.

"You waited? You're such the gentlemen." She says.

"I know." I say, digging in.

We eat in silence for the most part, chatting sometimes about our failure of writing a song this morning, or about the amazing pancakes. When we're finished, she washes the dishes and I dry for her. After we're all done, it's already noon.

"We make a great team." I tell her.

"Yes, we do. I think we will get the song down, it just takes time like I said earlier." She says.

"Yes definitely." I say.

Her phone starts to ring from the table. She runs over and picks it up, "Hello?"

I walk over and lean in the doorway. She looks at me, and then at the floor, "Yeah Dallas…" She says.

"I guess…" She continues.

I walk out of the room and into the living room. I check out her big leather couch and I'm very tempted to lay down on it and sleep for forever, but then she comes back in, "I guess I'm going to meet Dallas…" She says.

I get this odd feeling in my gut, so I swallow hard, "Okay." I say.

"Thanks for coming over." She says.

"Thanks for having me, and thanks for helping me." I tell her.

She walks with me out onto her porch. I turn around and look down at her, "You're a great person Ally, and don't let anyone else tell you different." I say.

She smiles, "Thanks Austin."

And I want to hug her in this moment more than anything. I want to feel that same way that I felt when she hugged me the other day. It's all I've been thinking about since, but instead we keep our awkward distance, looking at the floor, "Well, goodbye Ally." I tell her.

"Goodbye Austin." She says.

I turn around and walk away, off of her porch and onto the sidewalk. I take a quick look back and she's still looking at me before she turns around and goes back inside. When I get home, I go down into the basement and turn on the T.V, plopping down on the couch lazily. I sigh and put my arms behind my head, thinking of the morning I just had.

What are her and Dallas doing right now? Is he making her feel like crap like he usually does, or is he actually treating her like he should be? I sure hope it's the second one. That's all I want is for Ally to start feeling better about herself, and I want Dallas to quit being the cause of it.

I really need to find something to preoccupy myself, I'm thinking about this way too much. I get up and pick up my phone, dialing Dez.

"What's up?" he answers.

"Want to hang out?" I ask him.

"Sure, I have nothing to do." He says.

"I'll pick you up in five." I tell him.

"Okay sounds great to me bro." He says, hanging up.

I drive up to his house and pick him up. I told him we're going to the skate park just outside of town. It's been a while since I've skateboarded and I remember it always being a good distraction so I think this is what I need.

"Dude, when was the last time we have been skateboarding?" Dez asks as we pull into the park.

"It has been a while." I say.

"Is there something on your mind?" He asks.

"What?" I ask as I grab my skateboard out of my back seat.

"You used to skate when you had a lot on your mind." He says.

"Oh, right. No everything is fine I just felt like skating." I say. Damn him for knowing me so well.

I start to skate around the side and the middle, not doing anything crazy just yet. I'm afraid my skills will be rusty so I don't feel like face planting just yet. After about an hour of skating, Dez goes right for the tall ramp and drops it, rolling off of the skateboard.

"Good one!" I yell to him.

He shakes his head at me as he gets up, "I'd like to see you try." He says.

"Don't tempt me!" I tell him.

"I'll pay you ten bucks if you make it on your first try." Dez says.

"Only ten bucks?" I ask.

"It's all I have!" He moans.

"That is true." I say, laughing.

I get up to the top of the ramp and look down. I don't even remember ever going down one this high, but I never say no to a bet, and Dez knows that. A bunch of guys those were skating around, stop to watch. "Are you going to chicken out?" Dez asks from below.

"No man, I'm just scoping it out." I lie. This is a bad idea, and I know it. But everyone's watching now, what am I supposed to do?

"Come on!" Dez says, making chicken noises.

I roll my eyes, and take a deep breath. Here goes nothing I say to myself. I drop down onto the ramp, but half way down I lose my balance, and everything goes black…

I open my eyes, and everything's blurry. I blink over and over, finally getting my focus. And Ally appears in my vision. Either I'm dead, dreaming, or this is real, "Ally?" I whisper.

"Hey man." I hear Dallas's voice.

I turn and see Dallas and Dez on my other side, "Where am I?" I ask.

I look down at myself and I'm lying down, and that's when I realize I'm in the hospital, "You're in the hospital, you fell off your skateboard." Dallas says.

"You're okay, though, thank god. You have a concussion. It could have been a lot worse, but it's not." Dez says.

"So I don't get my ten dollars?" I say.

Dez laughs, "Yeah, I think you deserve it."

I look at Ally and her face is full of concern, she hasn't taken her eyes off me. But she hasn't said anything to me either. Dallas walks over and stands behind her, "Dez and I are going to go get the doctor, we we're supposed to tell her when you wake up." He says. He pats Ally on the shoulder and they both leave.

"Are you okay?" I ask Ally.

Her face turns into a twisted smile and she laughs, "You're asking me if _I'm_okay?" She says.

"Well yeah, you looked upset." I say.

"I was so worried about you. And seeing you like that, laying there unconscious scared the shit out of me." She says; hold her head in her hands.

"I'm sorry." I say, touching her hand with me. She looks into my eyes and smiles. I hear the door open up and take my hand back quickly.

"How are you feeling buddy?" My doctor asks, checking my chart.

"Okay, my head hurts a little." I say.

"That's normal. Everything seems to be okay, we're going to keep you tonight and you can go home in the morning." He says.

"But you said everything was fine."

"It is but since we have no idea why you were out so long, we have to be extra careful." He says.

"Okay, fine." I say.

After he leaves, Dez and Dallas sit down at the end of my bed, "Party in the hospital tonight!" Dallas says.

"I'm pretty sure visiting hours will end at like nine." Ally says.

"Then we party until nine!" Dez says.

"You guys are stupid." Ally says.

"Whatever." They both say.

"Or you can let me rest, because I doubt partying is good for a concussion." I say, laughing.

"True that." Dallas says.

Just then, my parents come in. My mother has tears in her eyes as she stands by my side, "Are you okay? You had us worried sick!" She says.

"I'm fine mom." I tell her.

"You have to always wear a helmet Austin!" My father says.

"I'll remember that next time." I say.

"Well no more skateboarding for a while." My mother says.

"Okay." I tell them, not in the mood to get a speech from them in front of my friends.

After a while of talking, my parents go down to the cafeteria for some food. Dallas, Dez and Ally went to Mel's to get me a burger. I wait patiently; I mean what else am I supposed to do? Finally my parents come back, "Are you okay if we go home? We have to be up early in the morning." My mother says.

"That's fine. Dez, Dallas and Ally are coming back soon anyways." I say.

"Okay, make sure they don't stay too late, you need your rest." My father says.

"Okay will do." I tell them.

My mother kisses me on the forehead and my father pats me on the shoulder and they leave.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six:**

"_It's summertime, and you are all that's on my mind.__"_

I button the last button on my plaid shirt, staring out the window from my hospital bed. I'm about to get ready and leave when there's a knock on my door, "Come in." I say.

Ally walks in, holding a small stuffed bear with a balloon tied to his arm. I look at the balloon that says, 'Get Well Soon,' in big letters. She smiles at me and sets the bear on the end table, "You're looking better." She says.

"And I'm feeling it too, other than the headache. They said I could leave at any time." I say.

"That's great." She says, sitting down at the end of my bed.

I walk over to the end table and pick up the bear. It's a dark brown and insanely soft. I smile at it, and look at Ally; she sees my expression and blushes, turning away, "Cute bear." I say, "Very thoughtful."

She shrugs, "It was nothing."

"Oh, now I don't feel special." I say, putting on a fake pouting face.

She rolls her eyes, "Oh shut up Moon." She says.

"Hey, be nice to the patient!" I say.

"You're technically not a patient anyone, since they told you that you could leave at anytime." She says, standing up.

"Ugh, quit being smart." I say, face palming.

She laughs, "Just hurry up and get ready, we have some song making to do." She says.

"I don't get a morning off, seeing as I'm in such bad condition?" I ask.

She raises an eyebrow and looks me over, "You look fine to me."

"I don't know I'm really craving some ice cream." I tell her.

"It's ten in the morning." She says blankly.

"It's never too early for ice cream!" I shout.

"Okay, okay… Fine we can go to Mel's for some ice cream and work on the song there." She says.

"Yay!" I say happily.

"You are such a child." She says, heading towards the door.

"It's one of my best qualities." I tell her, grabbing my stuff.

"I wouldn't say that." She says.

**Later at Mel's…**

"You know that nothing rhymes with orange!" Ally argues, taking a bite from her spoonful of ice cream.

"Whatever! This is why I don't write my own songs." I tell her, licking melting ice cream off of the side of my cone.

"I know that if you really tried, you'd be able to write one." She says.

"What makes you think that?" I ask.

"Because you are so passionate about music and singing, why not put all of that into a song?" She asks.

I shrug, "I just can't."

"Okay, here's some homework for you." She says.

"Are you kidding me? It's summer!" I say, biting into my cone.

She rolls her eyes and sets down her bowl, "Stay with me, Moon. I want you to lie there tonight before you go to sleep, and whatever you start thinking about first while staring up at your dark ceiling, you are going to write about." She says.

"What?" I ask, dumbfounded.

"Don't you ever just lay there and let your mind wander?" She asks.

"Of course I do." I say.

"Then think of something to write about then. And really think on it." She says.

"That's just weird." I tell her.

"How is it weird?" She asks.

"What if for some reason, the first thing I think of before I go to bed is; unicorns!" I say.

"Then write a song about unicorns!" She says.

I shake my head, finishing off my last bite of cone, "You are so weird." I say.

"Thank you!" She says.

I checks the time on her phone and stands up, "I have to go. I trust that you know your way home right, concussion boy?"

"That's just rude Dawson." I tell her, standing up also.

She smiles and punches me gently in the shoulder, "Glad you're okay." She says before turning around and leaving. I watch her until she is out of sight and shake my head, "She's really something." I say out loud to no one.

I walk back home and when I get there, I'm surprised to see both of my parents home. They are sitting calmly on the couch, drinking coffee together. My mother smiles when she sees me enter, "Hello sweetie, how are you feeling?" She asks.

"I'm feeling pretty good." I tell her.

"No more headache?" My father asks.

I shrug, "It's definitely there, but it isn't bothering me." I tell him.

"Well if any of your concussion symptoms come back; let us know right away okay?" He says.

"Okay." I tell him, walking into the kitchen.

I grab a soda from the fridge and start to head upstairs to my room when my phone goes off; it's a text from Dallas. He wants me to meet him and Dez at Dez's house. I tell my parents what I'm doing and drive over. When I pull into the driveway, Dez and Dallas are sitting on the porch. I get out and jog up to them, "What's up?" I ask.

"Dallas is bummed because he and Ally had a fight and she's not answering his calls, so I decided the three of us should get together and have some fun." Dez says. Dallas just nods from beside him.

"Have some fun as in how? I still have a concussion you know…" I state.

"I know that, jeez. I was thinking a nice calm day at the beach or something." Dez says.

"I don't want to go to the beach." Dallas says.

"Okay, arcade?" Dez says.

"That won't be good for my head." I admit.

"Okay, Mel's for some food?" Dez asks.

"Not hungry." Dallas says.

"Okay, go to the movies?" Dez asks.

I cough, "Concussion," Followed by another cough.

"Wow you guys are hopeless!" Dez yells, pulling at his ginger hair.

"I'm sorry Dez." I tell him.

"How about we go to a party tonight?" Dallas says.

"A party, just us guys, without Ally?" Dez asks.

"Hell yes." Dallas says.

"I don't think that's a good idea for me." I tell them, "Or you." I say to Dallas.

"I don't give a shit if it's not good for me. I'm done with worrying man." Dallas says.

"Well you guys can go, I don't mind. I have stuff to do at home anyway." I say.

"Are you sure?" Dez asks.

"I'm sure." I tell him.

"Sorry you can't come." Dallas says.

"Just be careful of Dal?" I say.

"Sure thing." He says. He pats me on the shoulder, "Thanks for looking out for me."

"What are friends for?" I ask, swallowing hard. It feels weird saying that to him for some reason, maybe the fact that I've been having secret meetings with his girlfriend, even though they are innocent.

**That night…**

I lie down on my bed, strumming at my guitar. It's almost nine thirty, and I'm already yawning. I play a few chords, just messing around in my boxers and no shirt. My parents went to bed about half an hour ago, and I'm officially bored, until I hear something outside. At first, I don't think anything of it, but then I hear it again.

I look towards my window and wait, and that's when I see something hit my window, causing the noise. I set my guitar down at tiptoe to my window. I look down and Ally is standing under my window. I open it up and stick my head out, "What the hell are you doing?" I whisper yell.

"I need to talk to you." She says.

"You couldn't have called?" I ask.

"I didn't want to be alone." She says, and that's when I realize the tone of her voice; she's been crying.

"I'll be right down to let you in." I tell her.

I rush down the stairs, forgetting to put more clothes on, and open the door. Her tear streaked face looks me up and down, causing her cheeks to run a darker shade of red, she looks at her feet, "You could have put some clothes on." She says.

"Well, you kind of just came unexpected, I didn't think of my attire." I tell her.

"Its fine, can I come in now?" She asks.

"Yes, but be quiet, my parents are sleeping." I tell her.

She follows me through my house and upstairs to my room. I shut the door behind me and throw on my shorts from earlier. She sits down on my bed, looking around my room. I get my guitar and put it back on my stand. She looks at me again, and I notice the same blush forming, "You couldn't have put a shirt on too?" She asks.

I grin widely, "It's too hot in here for that.

"Sure it is." She says, almost laughing.

"So what's wrong?" I ask her, sitting on my desk chair across from her.

"Dallas went to some party, without even telling me, Trish was there and texted me it. So I texted Dallas and confronted him and he totally blew up at me." She says, sighing.

"Ugh, I warned him to behave." I say, running my hands through my hair.

"You knew?" She asks.

"Well, he said something about going earlier." I say.

"Oh." She says.

"Yeah, if I knew this was going to happen I would have told you myself, believe me." I tell her.

"I believe you. I'm just so tired of this." She says, and I see tears starting to stream down her face again, "What did I do to deserve a reaction like that? All I did was ask a question." She says, covering her face with her hands. She starts to cry harder.

"Ally, don't cry." I tell her. I stand up and walk over to her, seating next to her. I pat her causally on the back, trying to comfort her. Instead, she moves in and presses herself into my chest, hugging me to her and crying. I slowly put my arm around her back and rub it gently as she cried. And that feeling came back again, the one I've been craving to feel again since our hug. The electricity, the thousands of feelings at once, and it has to stop, but I never want it to.

After she cries a little longer, she lets go of me and straightens up, wiping her face, "I'm sorry about that." She says.

"Don't be." I tell her.

"Thanks for being here for me, it means so much." She says.

"No problem." I say back. It's all I could say.

She looks over at the clock on my nightstand, "Crap, I should get home before someone notices." She says.

We both stand up at the same time, "Okay, I'll walk you out." I tell her.

We walk quietly through the house and go onto the porch. She turns around and looks up at me, her face shining bright in the moonlight, her sad big brown eyes peering into my soul, "Goodnight Austin, thanks again." She says. For a moment, I'm completely frozen and speechless. She keeps her eyes on me and I just smile at her, a dumb, silly smile. She looks at my chest and then back to my face quickly, blushing for the umpteenth time tonight.

"Goodnight Ally." I say quietly to her. She smiles and turns around, walking away.

I go back into my house and back into my room. I shut off the light, and lay down in my bed. All I can think about is what just happened, and that feeling I got with Ally in my arms, and then I remember what she told me about at Mel's earlier, to write a song about what goes through my head when I'm trying to sleep, and I realize what's been in my head lately every night; her. I can't write my own songs because the only thing I'd be able to write about is her, and I don't know if that's a good idea.

I get up quickly, turning on my light again. I go over to my desk and fumble through my pile of old school stuff, finally finding a blank notebook. I open it up to the first page, and grab a pen, slowly and shakily writing the first line... "_The way you turn me on like a light switch, I might just go crazy."_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven:**

"_What do I have to do, to be the latest choice."_

I woke up at my desk, my face lying on the notebook. I was nervous that they lines tattooed themselves to my face, but when I looked in the mirror, it was clear. I took a shower and threw on my clothes. As I paced around my room for my clothes, my eyes kept darting back to my paper. There's words written all over it, but none of it has been put together. Just random lyrics that popped into my head, but I don't know if I'd be able to form them into a song.

I run my hair through my messy wet hair once more before going downstairs. My parents were gone to work and I was shocked and/or annoyed when I noticed a piece of paper on the counter. It's definitely not time for more chores already.

The note simply asked me to mow the lawn if I felt 'capable'. I wanted to not do it and tell them I felt exactly that, not capable. But if I lied about that, they'd get worried and probably make me go back to the doctors. Plus, I really had nothing else to do today. The only downside was I'd have to shower again after.

I go outside and into our garage. The push mower is in the back, behind a few new boxes and my dad's motorcycle. I sigh loudly, realizing that there's more work involved, like getting to the mower itself. Nothing ever seems to be easy when my parents give me something to do.

After sliding the boxes over to the other side, I roll the mower out from behind the motorcycle slowly, making sure not to hit it or scratch it. I'm finally successful and bring it outside. I shut the garage door behind me and when I turn around, I jump, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Ally says, standing awkwardly in front of me.

"Its fine, I just didn't expect you to be standing there." I admit, leaning against the mower handle.

"I see you have chores again already." She says.

I shrug, "I just have to mow the lawn, that's all." I say.

"What are you doing after?" She asks.

I stop myself from shrugging again and instead shake my head, "I don't know; nothing I guess." I say.

She just nods and puts a loose curl behind her ear. I raise an eyebrow at her and smirk, "Why are you wondering?" I ask.

She shrugs, "Oh, no reason. So did you do your homework yet?" She asks, catching me off guard. I turn and look at the mower like I noticed something out of place. I can't stop myself from shrugging this time, "Not really." I lie.

"That's too bad. You have time though." She says.

"Yeah I guess." I say.

"So, how long is it going to take you to mow?" She asks.

"I don't know, not too long." I say.

"Can I wait inside? I'll make us lunch." She says.

I nod, surprised, "Sounds good." I tell her.

I don't know why she's here, or what her intentions on, but I really could care less. She can come over whenever she wants; I don't think I'll ever mind her company. Plus, she's going to make me lunch? What did I do to deserve this honor?

I mow the lawn faster than I ever have before. I may have missed a few spots and it may look really sloppy but hey, I mowed, I did what they asked. So I will totally win the argument later. I shove the mower back into the garage and walk inside. She is seated at the bar, two bowls of what looks like pasta sitting there, one in front of her and one beside her. I sit down next to her and smile, "What is this?" I ask.

"It's just my famous chicken alfredo." She states proudly.

"We had the stuff for it?" I ask, surprised. I can never find anything good in that thing.

"Yes, yes you did. Now eat it before it gets cold." She says.

I obey her orders and dig in. By the third bite, I understand why she calls it her 'famous' chicken alfredo. I was beyond delicious, "Ally, this is awesome!" I tell her.

She takes another bite of her own, "I know." She says with a grin.

"You can sing, play the piano, and cook. You're perfect!" I tell her, before realizing what I just let out of my mouth. My face instantly turns red and I stare into my half empty bowl.

"Sorry, that was probably a little much." I say to her.

She laughs and waves her hand, "Nah, it was nice to be complemented." She says.

I turn to her with a serious expression, "You deserve to be complemented a lot, everyday." I say to her. She smiles and nods, turning back to her bowl. I sigh silently and finish my food, wishing I could say more, or do something, but I don't know what.

When we are both finished, I clean up our dishes and meet Ally in my living room. When I walk in, she is sitting on the couch, biting her fingernails. I take a seat next to her and study her, she seems different lately, "Ally, are you doing okay?" I ask her.

She looks at me then, her face full of confusion, "Yeah? Why wouldn't I be?" She asks.

"I'm just making sure." I tell her.

"Well, I have been stressing out about me and Dallas lately." She says.

"I figured." I tell her.

"I just don't know what to do. He's been acting a lot different lately, and I don't like it." She says.

"I'm sorry." I tell her, because I honestly don't know what to say about it.

"I know. I'm just going to give it time and give him space, he obviously needs it… Or maybe he wants it. I don't know what he wants anymore, and frankly, I'm sick of it." She says, "But enough about me, how's your love life?" She asks.

"Huh… What?" I ask, not expecting that question.

"You know, do you have your eyes on anyone?" She asks.

I shake my head, "Uh, no."

"I'm sure someone has their eye on you." She says.

"Why would they?" I ask.

"Well you're a great person, and you're really talented and stuff." She says.

"So?" I ask.

"I'm surprised you don't have a girlfriend. Have you ever had one?" She asks.

"I've had plenty." I lie.

"Have you really Austin? Because I haven't see you with a girl since I've known you." She says.

"Okay, I've had one girlfriend, when I was thirteen." I say.

She laughs, "Does that even count?"

"I think it does!" I say defensively.

"Did you kiss her?" She asks.

"Of course I did." I tell her.

"How long was it?" She asks, sitting Indian style now, facing me.

"How long was what?" I ask.

"How long was the kiss?" She asks like I'm a third grader.

"I don't remember!" I tell her.

"Yes you do." She says.

"Fine; like three seconds." I admit.

"So you really have never even kissed a girl, now that is a shocker!" She says, laughing like a little school girl.

I look towards the door, "You can leave if you want." I say blankly.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to offend you. It's just surprising." She says.

"Why?" I ask.

"Well everything I've heard about in school makes you sound like a player." She says.

"I'm more like a flirt, I guess." I tell her.

"I guess so." She says.

"What about you?" I ask her.

She tilts her head to the side, "What about me?"

"Have you dated other guys besides Dallas?" I ask her.

She shakes her head, "No, I haven't."

"So I guess we're kind of even." I tell her.

"Well in the number of relationships we've had, I guess so." She says.

"But you and Dallas have done more than I have, obviously." I state.

She shrugs, "Well we've kissed longer than three seconds." She says, laughing.

"The door, it's right there." I say, pointing.

"Sorry, sorry." She says, "New subject." She says.

"Thank you." I tell her.

"Actually, I should probably get going, I have work soon." She says, standing up.

"Okay." I tell her.

She walks over to the door and turns around, "If you are ever interested in someone and need some help, let me know! I can hook you up." She says, and winks.

"Oh okay." I tell her as she walks out the door.

I walk upstairs to my room and sit in front of the notebook again. I read the line over again, "The way you turn me on like a light switch, I might just go crazy." I sing out loud, "Because you're my best friend's baby." I sing out loud after, writing it down.

"I don't know what to do." I sing louder, rubbing my hands through my hair, pulling slightly.

This is bad, so bad. This can't be happening to me, can it? It's not true; I'm just going crazy right? Now, unfortunately I'm not. I'd give anything to just be going crazy, or in a bad dream, but that's not the case here, "I'm in love with someone else's girl." I sing out loud, and that girl is Ally.

**Later that night…**

"Are you just going to lie there all night? Are you feeling okay?" My mother asks me, as I lie down on my stomach on the couch.

"Yes, and I feel fine." I mumble through the cushions.

"What's the matter?" She asks.

"Not a thing." I say.

"I can't understand a word you're saying." She says.

I sit up and sigh, "Nothing's wrong mom, can't I just be lazy?" I ask.

"I did not raise a lazy son." My father says as he enters the room.

"There's nothing to do." I tell them.

"It's a weekend, you always go out." My mother says.

"Are you guys trying to get rid of me?" I ask.

"Of course we aren't! We were just wondering why you weren't doing anything. Did you have a fight with your friends?" My mother asks.

I sigh louder, "No I did not." I say. I stand up and look at my parents with a blank expression, "I'll go see what Dez is up to." I say, and then walk out the door.

I couldn't tell my parents the real problem. What was I supposed to say? Oh, I'm bummed because I just figured out I'm in love with Dallas' girlfriend Ally, you remember her right? Or I could have said that I've lost it, I'm going completely insane, but that wouldn't have went well either. I wasn't really going to find Dez either, I was going to go to Mel's and order one of their famous strawberry smoothies and sit at one of the tables and drown in my own guilt.

But those plans got ruined when I walked in, spotting Dallas and Ally at the table closest to the table, I go to turn around and walk away, but it was too late; I've been spotted.

"Austin!" Dallas calls from the table. I take a deep breath and turn back around, facing them with a wide surprised grin.

"Oh hey guys!" I say in a terrible fake happy voice.

"What's up man?" Dallas asks.

"Oh nothing, was just coming for a smoothie and then going on my way." I say. Ally is silent, munching on some fries that they are sharing.

"You should sit with us." Dallas says.

I wave my hand in the air, "Oh no it's fine, I don't want to bother you guys!" I say.

"No really, it's fine." Ally says.

No actually, it's not fine. I don't think sitting with my best friend and his girlfriend who happens to be the girl of my dreams is a good idea, nope, not at all. But I am Austin; a pushover when it comes to my friends, so I order my smoothie and take a seat across from them.

"What have you been up to today?" Dallas asks.

Well earlier I hung out with your girlfriend, and after she left I realized I love her, and then I spent the rest of the day sulking from my couch, "Oh nothing really, chores and stuff." I say.

"That's no fun. What are you up to around eight? We are all going to the beach, there's going to be this awesome party; no alcohol either." He says, smiling at Ally. She smiles back at him, but it doesn't look too convincing.

"I don't know…" I say.

"You should go, it will be fun." Ally says.

"I guess I will go for a little while." I say.

"Great!" Dallas says.

I sip on my smoothie and listen to them talk about the party and their food. But my mind keeps going elsewhere, like to my song and my feelings for Ally. _In my crazy mind, I'm with you all the time_ I think to myself. I've lost it.

"So we'll all meet up later?" Dallas asks, standing up. Ally does the same.

"Yes that sounds good." I tell them, and they both wave and leave.

And now I'm finally here, alone like I originally planned. But now I actually have plans, to go to a beach party. But the truth is I'm nowhere near in a mood to party, or be on a beach, or be around Dallas, or Dallas and Ally. I just want to go home, lie on my bed and wonder why I'm stupid enough to let this happen, but instead I pay for my smoothie and head home, to get dressed for whatever tonight brings.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight:**

"_This is just so unhealthy."_

As I throw on my red converse and rub my hands through my hair one more time, I realize that this is stupid of me. Why am I going to this stupid party anyway? I have a feeling it's because I got the impression Ally wanted me there, but she's going to be with Dallas the whole night, I know it. If he isn't going to drink, then they won't be having any fights and they can have a good time, which is good. I don't like them fighting, because that involves Ally getting upset, or hurt, and I hate that more than anything.

I tell my parents where I'm going, and I walk to the beach. They told me the general area, and it wasn't hard to find seeing how there was a large group of people scattered in one area, with loud music coming from a stage. I didn't know there was going to be live music; what kind of party is this anyway?

I scan through the crowd, looking for anyone I know, and of course the first person I see is Ally. She is standing awkwardly, alone, sipping from a cup at what looks like a snack table. She is looking all around, looking for someone. She's wearing a light blue sun dress, her hair down and straight, she looks absolutely stunning, but when doesn't she?

I walk over slowly, her eyes meet mine and she smiles instantly, setting down her drink, she waves, "Austin!"

"Hello Ally." I say as I walk up to her.

"I'm glad you could make it." She says.

"So am I, where's Dallas?" I ask her.

She shrugs, "He's somewhere, talking with friends I guess." She says.

"I didn't know there was going to be live music." I say to her, gesturing to the stage. There is some strange looking kid with hair covering his face playing the guitar.

She laughs, "Well, it's more like karaoke night I guess."

"Whose party is this?" I ask.

"I have no idea, some friend of Dallas', I've never even heard of him." She says.

"That's interesting. Are you going to sing?" I ask, laughing.

"Very funny, why don't you go up there?" She asks.

My face turns serious, "Also funny." I say.

I grab a pretzel from a large bowl and stuff it into my mouth, "Where's Dez and Trish?" I ask after I'm done chewing.

"I have no idea, Dez was around here earlier." She says.

"Well this is going to be a fun night." I say, sighing.

"Hey, you've only been here for like two minutes, give it some time." She says.

"I'll try." I tell her.

After a little while of talking, I follow Ally around, looking for Dallas. We finally find him standing with a group of three girls, and one boy. Ally walks over to him, clearing her throat. I walk slowly behind, "What's going on babe?" He asks.

"I've been looking all over for you." She says.

"I told you I was talking with friends, don't act so clingy." He says, causing the group to laugh.

I clench my fists tight as he notices me, "Oh hey bud!" He says.

"Hi." I say blankly, wanting to punch him square in the jaw after embarrassing Ally like that.

"How do you like the party?" he asks.

"It's kind of lame actually." I say. His male friend shoots me a death glare and I realize that he must be the one throwing the party. Dallas' eyes widen at me and he clears his throat awkwardly, "Oh it will get better man, let's go get some food." He says.

Ally finds Trish and walks over to her, leaving me with Dallas. As we are walking over to the snack table, he punches me in the arm, "Lighten up, will you? That guy I was with is the host of this 'lame' party." He says.

"Why did you say that about Ally in front of those people? That was kind of, really rude." I say.

"Dude, why do you even care?" He asks, grabbing a few chips.

"Because you're my friend, she's my friend. I care about you guys." I say.

He laughs, "I wouldn't say you and Ally are friends, she's just my girlfriend that you associate with." He says.

"Oh, that's news to me." I say.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asks.

I shake my head, "Nothing."

I grab a cup and pour some soda into it while Dallas looks around, "Now where did she go?" he asks.

"Don't be clingy." I say in a mock tone.

He rolls his eyes, "Shut up."

"You know, me and Ally haven't been doing too well lately." He says suddenly.

"You don't say?" I say sarcastically.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asks.

"Well anyone around you guys can sense it, plus you've been acting pretty stupid lately." I tell him.

"Dude, whose side are you on?" He asks.

"I'm not on anyone's side, just stating the facts." I say.

"Whatever, I'm going to go find her." He says, walking away.

I walk over to the front of the stage, where a new guy is standing in front of the microphone. He looks like he's about to throw up right there. There is music playing in the background, and I think he's supposed to be singing already. People are booing and throwing snacks at him. He shakes his head at himself and runs off the stage. I look over to the other side and see Ally and Trish watching. I walk over to them quickly, "Did you just see that?" I ask.

"Yeah, that's so horrible. He must have really bad stage fright." Trish says.

"Like me." Ally says.

"You have stage fright? You don't ever even go on a stage." Trish says.

"Isn't that the point?" I ask.

"Never mind that, these kids are so cruel to him." Ally says.

"Dallas is looking for you." I tell Ally.

"Good, Dall Ass keep looking for her." Trish says. I can't help myself from laughing the her new nickname for her. I even notice a small smile coming from Ally.

"Have you seen Dez, Trish?" I ask her.

She nods, "Yeah, he's on the other side of the stage I think." She says.

"Thanks." I tell her, walking away and into the direction she told me.

I finally find him, he has a digital camcorder in his hand and he's recording the person that is currently on the stage. He looks at me at points the camera at me, "Say hello Austin!"

"Hello Austin!" I say into the camera.

He rolls his eyes and points it back to the stage. I stand next to him and watch him for a few moments until he stops recording, "So what are you doing?" I ask.

"I'm in charge of taping the different performances. I'm one step closer to being a famous director!" he says happily. That's Dez's dream, to be a movie director, but I don't see this as a big first step.

"That's cool Dez." I say.

"Yeah, this party is awesome." He says.

"I wouldn't even call it a party; it's more like a beach bash." I say.

"Well whatever it is its fun." He says.

After a while of watching Dez record, I get bored and walk back over to the table. I grab a few different things to munch on and look around the party. There is a bunch of different things happening at once. There are three girls with violins on the stage, two different couples making out right next to each other, a couple fighting, two guys playing soccer… wait; the couple fighting, is Ally and Dallas. I can't say I'm surprised, but I'm sort of interested in what they could be fighting about now.

I put my focus on them and try to listen. Ally is standing in front of him, making angry facial expression, her arms cross. Dallas' arms are flailing everywhere and he's almost shouting, "All we do is fight!" Dallas shouts.

"And whose fault is that." She says back.

"That would be yours!" He says.

"You are seriously blaming me?" She says.

"It's not blame when it's really your fault." He says.

"You are unbelievable!" She says, picking up a handful of sand and chucking it at him. She storms off and he follows her.

He really is unbelievable. I know I've only been in one relationship but I'm pretty sure it's _never_ a good idea to blame the girl for _everything_. I'm sure a lot of it was his fault, since I've seen the way he has been acting towards her. I would never treat her like that. I mean, how could _anyone_ treat Ally Dawson like that? She's the sweetest, kindest, most beautiful girl I've ever met and… okay I need to stop thinking.

A group of guys walk over to the table and set a keg down. Now, I thought this was an alcohol free party, but it was Dallas that said that. Maybe he was being truthful, maybe he didn't know. I want to believe it, and I was about to, until Dallas walked over grinning and high fiving one of the guys. I walk over to him and stare at him. He stops and looks at me, "What?" he asks.

"You said there wouldn't be drinking." I say.

"I know, but you were right, this party is lame, but now it's going to get better!" He says.

"Come on Dallas." I say.

"Dude, lighten up! Have some fun for once in your life!" He says.

"I always have fun!" I tell him.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say." He says, setting up some cups.

"I do." I say, crossing my arms like a young toddler having a fit.

"Prove it then!" He says.

"Okay, how?" I ask.

"Chug this." He says, pouring some beer in the cup.

"That doesn't prove anything." I say.

"It proves you're a chicken." He says, making chicken noises. The rest of the guys chime in after him, causing me to roll my eyes.

I know giving in to peer pressure is wrong, and I really didn't feel good about it, but I tend to not like being teased, and I'm always weak compared to Dallas, and I'm sick of it. Plus, my mind is already distraught from the feelings I have for Ally, maybe this will help me.

"Whatever." I say, grabbing the cup and chugging it down in one sip. All the guys cheer me on, completely changing their views of me, which I found actually pathetic.

I swallow hard when a voice comes from behind me, "What's going on?"

I turn around and see Ally standing there, eyeing the cup in my hand and then moving her attention to Dallas and the keg, "You promised." She says towards Dallas.

"We were just having fun Ally, it was Austin's idea." He says.

She looks at me with sad eyes as my mouth drops. Did he seriously just say this was _my_ idea? "Are you serious? This was not my idea!" I say, throwing the cup onto the sand.

"Well, you're the only one drinking." Ally says.

"Yes, because Dallas was making fun of me. It was one cup." I tell her, "And not my idea. You know that."

"Wow, Austin's a liar, and drunk." Dallas says, laughing.

"You can't get drunk from one damn cup, and I'm pretty sure you are the liar, why would you throw me under the bus like this?" I ask. His buddies stay silent and Dallas turns his attention to the floor, shrugging, "I'm not." He says.

"I thought you were different."Ally says to me before he turns around and runs away.

"Are you serious?" I say, running up to Dallas and taking his collar into my hands, "Why did you do that?" I ask, getting into his face. We're about the same height, but I'm slightly taller.

"Man, I'm sorry but I couldn't afford Ally getting mad at me, again. Thanks for taking one for the team." He says, patting me on the shoulder as I let go of him.

"I can't believe you." I say as I turn around and storm off.

I thought Dallas was a real jerk before, but this just completely proves it. It's one thing to hurt Ally, but turn it around on me and make her upset because of something I didn't even do; well that's a real low. I walk over towards the back of the stage and find Trish and Dez; they are standing and having a deep conversation. Once I see me, their faces turn into scowls, "What do you want?" Trish asks.

"Have you seen Ally?" I ask, looking past them.

"She was just here, but I wouldn't bother going after her." Dez says.

"Yeah, why did you do that?" Trish asks.

"I didn't do anything, Dallas set me up. He just admitted too. He made me look like the bad guy so Ally wouldn't be pissed at him again." I say.

Trish's' face goes blank but Dez shakes his head, "He wouldn't do that."

"Well he did!" I say.

"Yeah, I'm not so sure that Austin would lie like this." Trish says.

"Dallas wouldn't do that." Dez repeats.

"So you are going to believe him over me? We've been friends for years." I tell him.

Dez just shrugs, "Sorry," And walks away.

"I can't believe this." I say, pulling at my hair.

"Austin, I know we aren't close, but I believe you. I've seen the way you look at Ally lately, I know how much you care about her and you would never want to hurt her, unlike Dallas. I believe you also because it's something he would do." She says.

"Thank you so much Trish!" I say, hugging her. She tenses up at first but then hugs me back slightly. But when I realize what she said, I pull back and look at her, "What do you mean you've seen the way I look at her lately?" I ask.

"We will talk about that later, go find her. She's walking down the beach over there." She says, pointing in the direction she ran off.

"I owe you." I say, touching her shoulder.

I jog towards the shore line and look around. All I see the darkness besides the moonlit waves. Finally, I see a silhouette a little ways down, "Ally!" I shout.

She stops and turns around, but when she notices it's me, she starts walking again. This time I run full speed towards her, stopping beside her and keep up with her walking speed, "You've got to believe me, this was all Dallas." I say.

"Why would he lie to me like that?" She asks.

"He didn't want you to get mad at him and end up in another argument." I say, half out of breath. She starts to slow down and think a little.

"Why were you drinking?" She asks.

"I told you, Dallas and his friends were nagging on me. Dallas gave me his famous speech about how I'm boring and never have any fun, so I figured I'd just have one cup to shut him up. I'm not drunk or anything and I never planned on drinking, unlike Dallas who got that keg with his friends." I say.

She stops now, facing me. She looks me straight in the eyes for a long moment, and studies my face. I look hopelessly back, realizing everything she's got just kills me; her beauty, her body, her smarts, her music talent. God, she's perfect, and Dallas'.

I see tears start to form in her eyes and she face palms, "Wow, I am seriously so stupid. Why would I ever believe Dallas over you? I knew you wouldn't do something like this." She says.

"You believed Dallas over me because he is your boyfriend and that's how it's supposed to be." I say.

"Except when I believe my boyfriend over another guy it's supposed to be because my boyfriend is telling the truth, not lying." She says.

"I know." I say.

She takes a seat in the sand next to my feet, staring off at the waves. I sit down next to her, our shoulders touching. I stare off at the moon and the stars in the sky, letting her have her silence until she was ready to say something again. About five minutes later, she speaks again.

"I can't do this anymore." She says.

"Do what?" I ask stupidly.

"Be with Dallas. It just doesn't feel right anymore. Hell, it hasn't felt right in months." She says.

"Are you sure?" I ask her.

"Positive." She says, "I'm ending it tomorrow."

"Are you okay? Are you going to be okay?" I ask.

"I think so." She says.

And we stay silent after that, watching the waves, and the moon and the stars. I didn't mind the silence, because there was nothing really left to say. I was comforted in the fact that her and I could just sit here and have this silent moment together. But there was this bad feeling in my stomach, and it wasn't the cup of alcohol I had. It was the fact that tomorrow, if she goes through with it, Ally will be single. And that means that I don't have to feel as guilty with myself for loving her. But it's not like I could, or would do anything to ruin this friendship we have. She doesn't feel the same way about me, and I'm cool with it, as long as I have her in my life.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine:**

"_I'm crazy for you." _

I pace anxiously around my empty house, trying to figure out something I can do to preoccupy myself. But I have nothing, since Dallas is definitely not an option, and neither is Dez. I can't believe that he took Dallas' side after everything we have been through. I know that lately they have gotten closer, but come on. Isn't there a rule about being friends longer or something? Well, I guess if that were true, then I'm supposed to be picking Dallas over Ally, and Dallas should be picking me over Ally. Friendship is too complicated these days.

When I'm about to lower myself to moping the floors without being asked, my home phone rings. I check the caller I.D and the number doesn't look familiar, but I pick it up anyway, "Hello?"

"Hey Austin it's Trish." She says.

"Oh hi, what's up?" I ask, confused that she called me.

"I was just checking on you, making sure that you are okay after everything last night." She says.

"That's nice of you. Yeah, I'm doing okay I guess." I tell her.

"Did you end up finding Ally?" She asks.

"Yes, I did." I say, sitting down at my kitchen table.

"And how did that go?" She asks.

"Fine, we just talked for a while." I say.

"That's good. I haven't heard from her today." She says.

"Yeah she was supposed to…" I start to say but I stop myself. I don't know if I'm supposed to share that information with anybody else.

"She was supposed to what?" She asks.

"Um nothing, I don't know." I say.

"You're a liar! Tell me." She says.

"Do you promise you won't tell her I told you?" I ask.

"I promise." She says.

"She told me last night that she was ending things between her and Dallas." I say.

She sighs from the other end of the phone, "Well I really hope she does it this time."

"What do you mean _this_ time?" I question.

"She's said it before, that she's going to end things. But she never does. I don't know if it's because she doesn't want to or Dallas manipulates her." She says.

"Oh," Is all I can reply with.

"I hope I didn't disappoint you too much." She says.

"Huh, what do you mean?" I ask.

"I know you have feelings for her." She says.

"I do not." I tell her.

"You don't have to lie to me. I'm like a psychic when it comes to love." She says.

"She's my best friends… ex best friend's girlfriend, I wouldn't do that." I say.

"I know you wouldn't _do_ anything. But I know you have feelings for her, which isn't illegal." Trish says.

"Trish." I whine.

"Austin, just admit it." She says.

"Can we meet somewhere and talk?" I ask.

"Of course we can. How about Mel's, like right now?" She says.

"See you there." I say, hanging up.

When I get there, she is already there waiting for me, with a fresh batch of curly fries on the center of the table. I sit down across from her, and she just sits there, grinning wide at me. I take a fry cautiously, as if it might bite my finger off and look at her, "What!" I say finally.

"You love Ally." She says.

"Trish!" I say.

"I rather her be with you than Dallas, any day." She says.

"What?" I ask.

"Yeah, I really don't like him. As a person, he's okay, but as Ally's boyfriend, no. I've always thought she could do better." She says.

"Well he's obviously the guy she wants to be with." I say.

"You told me she's going to break up with him today." She says, eating a fry.

"You told me she's said that before." I reply back, dumping ketchup into the basket.

"Well, maybe with you in her life now, she will actually do it." She says.

"I have been in her life since she's started dating Dallas, Trish." I tell her.

"Yes, but its different now. You two have gotten close, haven't you?" She asks.

"I guess so." I say. I can't really tell her about our musical meetings every morning.

"I'll talk to her about it, and see what she says." She says.

"Don't do that." I tell her.

"Well why not?" She asks.

"I know she doesn't feel the way I do about her, and I don't want to ruin our friendship." I say.

"So you admit it!" She says, throwing down her fry and smiling triumphantly.

"Ugh." I say, face palming.

Before Trish could say anything more, Ally appears into the restaurant. She see's us and Trish waves her over, "Be cool, be cool!" Trish whispers.

"Me? You be cool!" I say eyes wide.

"Hey guys!" She says, sitting down between us.

"What's up Ally?" Trish asks.

"Nothing much, just came from Dallas'." She says.

Trish glances at me and then back to her, "How did that go?" She asks.

Ally shrugs, taking a fry, "Yeah, I broke up with him." She says casually.

Trish grins at me and immediately turns it into a frown when Ally looks her way, "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" She asks.

"I guess." She says.

"I'm sorry Ally." I tell her.

"I know." She says.

"Well, this calls for a spa day!" Trish says.

"That's nice of you Trish, but I don't feel like doing that today." She says.

"That's okay, I understand." She says.

"Well you shouldn't go home; it will just make you think about it." I tell her.

"I know, I'm not going to go home. I'm going to go work at the store." She says, standing up, "I just saw you guys in here and figured I'd let you know in case you talked to Dallas." She says.

"Ha, I don't think I will be talking to him for a while." I say.

"Good." She says, with a small smile, "He doesn't deserve your friendship."

I smile back as Ally walks away. Trish grins and plays around with a curly fry, "Well, now that Dallas is out the way…" She says.

"Don't start Trish." I tell her.

"Whatever, this has been nice but I got to get home." She says, "Call me later if anything good happens!" She says. I give her an odd expression as she leaves.

I realize that Trish left before paying the bill, which was typical Trish. Luckily, it was only fries so I really didn't mind paying. After that's settled, I get up and start heading home, walking down the boardwalk. I notice Sonic Boom isn't even opened as I walk by, so Ally must just be in the practice room. She wouldn't say it in front of Trish though.

I stop in front of the door, aching to go in and visit with her. But is that what she wants? She probably wants to be left alone at a time like this. I start to walk by when my cell phone rings. I stop and answer, "Hello?" I answer.

"Hi, I was just wondering if you wanted to work on the song." Ally's voice says.

I laugh, "I'm actually walking by Sonic Boom right now." I tell her.

"Perfect, come up to the practice room, the door is unlocked." She says.

"Be right there." I tell her before hanging up.

I walk in and jog up the stairs. I open the door to the practice room and see her seated at the piano. She turns around and smiles, "Hello." She says.

"Hi." I say, walking over and taking a seat next to her.

"Did Trish leave you the bill?" She asks.

I laugh, "How'd you know?"

"So, did you write a song yet?" She asks.

"What?" I ask.

"You know your homework." She says.

"Oh, well kind of…" I say.

Her eyes brighten, "Did you really?" She asks.

"Well, I wrote some stuff down." I tell her.

"Do you have it with you?" She asks, looking me over.

"No way, I wouldn't share it anyway." I say.

"Well why not?" She asks suspiciously.

"Never mind, just forget I said anything." I tell her.

"Well you'll share with me when you're ready." She says, shrugging and playing a few chords on the piano.

"You know, we really haven't gotten anywhere with this song." I say.

"I know right. We suck." She says, sighing.

"Well, I'm just happy I get to spend time with you." I say to her cautiously.

She smiles, "I like spending time with you." She agrees.

"So are you doing okay?" I ask her.

She nods, "As okay as I can be."

"Well if you need someone to talk to, you know I'm here." I tell her.

"I know Austin, I really do." She says, resting her hand on my shoulder. I smile at her and look into her beautiful brown eyes. Her smile slowly fades and she takes her shoulder back, clearing her throat, "Well, I guess we should get moving on this. We don't have much time." She says.

"Um Ally, we actually have a lot of time until that contest." I say.

She laughs, "Yes, I guess you're right."

"But we can try anyway." I say.

"That's a good attitude!" She says happily.

I play a few chords, fast and upbeat like I want it and she puts her thinking face on. It's really cute actually. She gets all this wrinkles in her forehead and her nose scrunches up. Damn it, there goes those thoughts again.

"I'm like that," I pause, thinking, "Boom box outside of your window." I sing out loud.

She looks at me, question written all over her face, "What was that?" She asks.

I shrug, "I don't know, it just came to me."

"Is it your homework you are finally sharing with me?" She asks, smiling.

I shake my head, "No." I say blankly.

"Well fine." She says, sighing.

"I'm like that DeLorean blowing past eighty-eight." Ally sings.

"Now that's good, and surprising coming from you." I say, laughing.

She shrugs, laughing too, "It's my favorite car, and it sounded right." She says.

"So, I'm like that boom box, outside of your window. I'm that, delorean blowing past eighty-eight." I sing.

"That sounds pretty cool actually. Would you look at that, we are making process already!" She says, clapping her hands.

"We are professional, what can I say." I say to her, laughing.

"Okay okay, let's focus now." She says, closing her eyes.

She starts playing the piano, "And where we're going," she pauses, "Girl, won't be needing roads 'cause."

"Ooh ooh ooh." I say happily.

She opens one eye and looks at me, "Good one." She says.

"I thought so!" I say.

After that, we continue to throw lines at each other, but nothing seemed it fit. It's like we were on a roll, which came to an end fast. Ally looked at the clock and her eyes widen, "Austin." She says.

"What?" I ask.

"It's almost one o'clock in the morning." She says.

"Crap!" I say, checking my phone, "My parents are going to be pissed." I say.

"My dad won't mind, I'm texting him to tell him I'm spending the night here." She says.

"You're spending the night here, alone?" I question.

She shrugs, "Yeah, I've done it before, plenty of times actually." She says, getting her phone out and texting.

"Okay, if you're sure that you'll be okay." I say.

"Yeah…" She says, "You can stay too though, if you want." She says.

"What?" I ask, surprised at her offer.

"We could pull an all-nighter working on the song." She says.

"We could." I say.

"If you want to you can." She says, shrugging.

I pick up my phone and text me parents that I'm staying over at Dez's house. I know we aren't getting a long, and that it's a lie and all, but I don't know if they'd let me spend the night with Ally or not, and I don't want to take the chance of them saying no.

"I'll stay." I tell her.

Her face brightens up, but she tones it down a bit. I almost think she didn't want me to notice, "That's cool." She says casually.

"I haven't stayed up all night in a long time though…" I admit.

"Wow, you are sort of boring…" She says.

"Wow, thanks." I say sadly.

"I'm just kidding!" She says, punching me in the arm like she always does.

"Good!" I say, pouting.

"Oh stop you baby, now let's write this song." She says, going back to the piano.

She sits down and plays what we already have. I lean against the piano and watch her. She hums the words to herself, trying to find the perfect chords to go with it. I don't really understand why she wants to help me so bad with this song, but I don't mind it at all. Her eagerness to write the song, her passion for it, makes me fall for her even more.

It's about four in the morning now, and we still haven't gotten anywhere. Ally is letting her elbows support her on the piano, and I'm sitting next to her, yawning every five seconds, causing her to yawn after me, "Jeez Austin, I know you are tired and all, but can you try not to yawn so much?" She asks and then yawns.

"I'm just so tired." I groan.

"I know. Staying up all night to write a song when you actually need to focus was probably a bad idea." She admits.

"I guess so. Should I go home?" I ask.

"We can just sleep here." She says.

"But what if we over sleep and your dad finds us in the morning?" I ask.

"Well, we are closed tomorrow so I really doubt he's going to come in." She says.

"Alright cool." I say.

She goes into the closet at the other side of the room and pulls out a bunch of blankets, two sleeping bags and pillows. I raise an eyebrow at her as she throws them all onto the floor, "Why do you have all of those?" I ask.

"Trish and I have had many sleepovers here." She says, shrugging.

"Well, I call the cheetah sleeping bag!" I say, causing Ally to burst out laughing. It wasn't that funny, that much I know, so she must be really tired.

She tosses me the sleeping bag and I unravel it, lying it down next to my feet. She throws me another pillow and another blanket. I stuff the pillow at the end of the bag and lay the blanket on top of it. It actually looks pretty comfortable, but that might just be because I'm very tired. She walks over and sets up her sleeping bag right next to mine, which surprises me. I guess Ally is just full of surprises lately, and I don't mind it all.

"Okay, so just to warn you, when the lights go off; it gets extremely dark in here, it's almost creepy. And second, if you end up needing to go to the bathroom, it's outside the door, which is locked because I locked us in because well yeah." She says, talking fast.

"And you sleep here alone sometimes?" I ask her, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, only once, because I fell asleep. Trish is usually always with me." She says.

I laugh, "Okay, gotcha." I say.

I climb into my sleeping bag, wishing I could strip to my usual sleeping attire; boxers. But I didn't think Ally would appreciate that, so I decided I can just be uncomfortable for one night. She walks over and flips the light off, and she's right, it's extremely dark. I hear her little footsteps run over, and then I feel movement of her getting into the sleeping bag next to me.

"I told you its really dark." She says.

"Wow, I guess you were right." I say, "You need to get a night light in here."

"That's for sure." She says.

"Ally, did you and Dallas ever spend the night together?" I say suddenly. I felt very stupid after I said it out loud. First of all, why would I even mention Dallas to her now, after they just broke up, and why would I even ask something like that?

I figured she wasn't going to answer because of the long pause, but she does, "Nope." She says causally.

"Not aloud?" I ask.

"I never wanted to." She says simply. I wanted to ask her why, or something, anything. But I felt like there was no need to continue to ask questions. I couldn't help but smile though, because she wanted me to stay with her, something she never wanted her boyfriend of a year and a half to do. That's got to call for something, doesn't it?

"Austin?" Ally asks, after a long pause.

"Yes?" I answer, putting my hands behind my head.

"Were you and Trish on a date earlier?" She asks.

"What?" I ask, shocked.

"Well, you guys were at Mel's together, and it kind of looked like…" She starts.

"No, no way. Not a date." I say.

"Okay." She says.

So that's why she was acting a little strange when she came over to us, and why she must have left so quickly. I guess I can see why she would have thought that, but does this mean she was kind of, jealous? No, I doubt it. She was just curious. Man, I over think things, and imagine things the way I wish they were.

"Austin, do you think you and Dallas will ever be close again?" She asks.

"I don't know." I say truthfully.

"He's changed." She says simply.

"I know." I reply back.

"Is it possible, to fall out of love with someone?" She asks, but I'm not sure if she's asking me, or herself.

"I don't know, only one girlfriend remember?" I ask, sort of laughing.

"Did you love her?" She asks.

"I don't think so." I say.

"Well, have you ever loved a girl you've never dated?" She asks.

I find it an odd question, especially because of the situation I'm in. I don't know how I should answer it, and I argue with myself for that answer, finally deciding to be as truthful as I can, "Yes." I say.

"When did you realize you didn't love her anymore?" She asks.

"Well, I never stopped." I said.

"So does that mean you never stop loving your friend love?" She asks.

"It's possible." I say. I want to say yes, it's probably true. But that'd mean she'll never stop loving Dallas, and all I want is for her to love me, like I love her.

"It probably is. I mean, a lot of people get over their first loves eventually." She says.

"Yes." I say. It's all I could say.

"What's she like?" She asks.

"What's who like?" I ask.

"The girl you love." She says lowly.

I don't know why she asked, I was hoping she wouldn't. I wanted nothing more than to tell her it was her, and how amazing, and special and perfect she really is, and how Dallas doesn't deserve someone like her. She deserves to me treated the way she treats everyone else. But I couldn't do it, for many reasons.

"She's amazing." I say.

"Does she love you too?" She asks.

This conversation was actually killing me. All of the stuff I couldn't tell her that I wanted to so badly, "No." I say.

"Well that's dumb. You're a great guy Austin." She says.

"Thanks Ally." I tell her.

"You deserve the best." She says.

"And so do you." I say, and that's the end of our conversation.

The silence lingers as I stare up at the dark ceiling, thinking of everything that happened today, and our conversation we just had, causing more song lyrics to come into my head. All I can think about is my 'homework' causing me to smile. _I want you bad._ I sing in my head.

**Author's Note:**

I think i kind of enjoyed this chapter... I hope you did too! Thank you so much for reviewing everyday! I think i'm going to start replying to my favorite reviews on my next chapters so everyone can see, so keep reviewing! :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten:**

"_We're better together."_

The bright sunlight shining in through the windows of the practice room wake me up. I let my eyes focus and search around the room for the clock. It's only six thirty. I sigh and stay lying down. I turn my head and look at Ally. She's on her side, facing me, fast asleep. Her lips are curved up into a partial smile. I wonder what she's dreaming about, if she's even dreaming.

After a little while, I end up drifting back to sleep. What seems like only minutes later, I am woken by the piano being lightly played. I open my eyes and notice it's now eight thirty. I look over at the piano, Ally's back is to me, her hair all messy from sleeping, and she's playing a song I've never heard. It must be one she wrote. She's humming quietly to herself too, sweet and slow.

"That sounds nice." I say, sitting up.

She jumps slightly and turns around. She tries fixing up her hair but it didn't quite work, but she smiles, "Thanks, it's just something I've been working on."

"Your hair looks cute all messy." I say to her.

She blushes, "Thanks. I'd say yours does too, but it's always looks like that." She says, laughing.

I stick my tongue out at her and run my hands through my hair, making it even messier. She laughs at me and comes over, sitting on her sleeping bag, "Did you sleep okay?" She asks.

I nod, "Yes, did you?"

"Yes, I did." She says, "But I'm starving."

"So am I." I say, patting my stomach.

"Well, we could go to Mel's for some breakfast." She says.

"That sounds wonderful, I'll pay." I tell her.

"Aw, thanks." She says.

She takes a hair tie off her wrist and puts her hair in a messy bun, causing her to look even more beautiful than usual. I sigh silently to myself as we both get up and head out the door. We walk over to Mel's and we're the only ones in there. We take a table near the window and wait for our waiter. When she finally gets here, I order an orange juice, and Ally orders chocolate milk.

"I've been dying for some chocolate milk." She says.

"Why haven't you had it?" I question.

"Dallas hates chocolate and like, never wants it in his sight." She says.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." I say.

When our drinks arrive, we both drink them down like we haven't drunk anything in days. That's what it felt like anyway, and the orange juice really hit the spot, "Yum!" Ally says.

I laugh, "Well, you can have as much chocolate milk as you want when you're around me, and anything chocolate really. It's the best." I say.

She grins wide, "That's awesome."

"So what are you going to get?" I ask as we look over the menus we have read several times.

"I'm thinking some hash browns and eggs. Let me guess, you're getting the pancakes?" She says.

"Why of course, but there not as good as your pancakes." I tell her.

"Of course they aren't." She says, laughing.

"Someone is full of themselves." I tease.

"Thank you!" She says, laughing.

When our food arrives, we eat slowly, taking out time. I was right, these pancakes were nothing compared to hers, but I ate them anyway, starving. I was still in awe that I just got to spend the whole night with her, and we're still together, sharing breakfast. What could get better than this?

"So tonight there is this big family get together on my father's side. It's at this park at the beach, about twenty miles away. Dallas was supposed to go with me… But obviously that's out. I'd really love it if you'd come with me, if you want that is." She says, taking her last bite of hash browns.

Even though I'm technically second choice, I can't stop my face from lighting up at the invitation, "I'd love to go." I tell her.

"Awesome! Trish is coming too." She says.

"It should be a good time, then." I say.

"Bring your bathing suit." She says.

"I shall!" I say happily.

When I get home, I inform my parents of my plans tonight. It's my mother's day off, but my father is at work, so she is sitting at the kitchen table, sipping coffee and reading one of her soap opera magazines, "You're going to a family thing, with Ally, as in Dallas' Ally?" She asks.

"Well… They aren't together anymore." I tell her.

"Oh really, that's unfortunate." She says, not taking her eyes off her magazine.

I shrug, grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge, "Dallas hasn't been treating her right lately." I say.

"What has he been doing?" She asks.

"Arguing with her and being just rude to her." I say, taking a seat across from her.

"That's not good. But just be careful about this. He is your best friend." She says, setting her magazine down.

"Yeah, about that…" I say.

"Are you guys fighting over her?" She asks.

"What?" I ask, "No, it's not like that. Ally and I are just friends. But Dallas did something to me at that beach party that I don't think I want to forgive him about." I say.

"What did he do?" She asks.

Crap, I shared too much. I take a long sip of my water and shrug, "I don't want to talk about it." I say.

"Well, as long as everything is okay. It's a shame though. I know how close you and Dallas are." She says.

"So it's okay if I go with Ally? Her father is driving us." I say, changing the subject.

"Yes, I don't mind." She says, "Ally is a nice girl." She says.

"Yes, she is." I tell her.

She picks up her magazine again and starts reading. I realize that that is the end of our conversation, and I don't mind. I didn't feel like sharing the events that happened at the beach between Dallas and I. So I stand up and walk upstairs to my room. I set my bottle down on my desk and notice my notebook still lying there, with my unfinished song. I think about sitting down and finishing it, but I rather get ready for tonight.

I grab some clothes and take a quick shower, realizing that I was still in my clothes from last night that my mother luckily didn't notice. If it was my father, he definitely would have, and I did not feel like having to lie again.

I throw on some clothes and put some gel in my hair to make it even wilder. I go into my closet and search for my swimming shorts. They aren't hanging up, so I slowly go through the large pile of clothes that is just sitting on the bottom of my closet. I'm really glad my mother never comes into my room. Sure, she glances at it when the door is open, and it looks perfect. But that's because I throw everything into my closet; it's rather convenient.

When I finally find them, I shove them into my backpack. I also throw in my towel, and that's about it. I feel kind of weird bringing a backpack, but I don't feel like carrying it all day, plus I'm not a girl so I can't just bring some giant cute tote bag to match my outfit. Like Ally does, she always matches everything, which makes her even more perfect.

[][][]

Ally texted me to let me know that they were on their way; they are picking Trish up first. I grab my stuff and go downstairs, waiting for them to arrive. My parents were gone, grocery shopping or something, so I left them a note to remind them of what I'm doing.

I don't have to wait long before I hear a vehicle pulling in. I'm kind of surprised when I walk out and realize that Ally's father's car has a giant Sonic Boom logo on the side. I don't remember seeing it there before. It couldn't have been, because I would have definitely noticed.

There is another man seated in the front seat who I've never seen before. I walk over and open the back seat. Trish is at the side and Ally is in the middle. I get in and Ally smiles, "Hello." She says.

"Hi." I say, smiling back.

"Hello Austin." Trish says, grinning her 'I know you love Ally' grin.

I glare at her quickly and say hi. Ally's father turns and looks at me, "Hey buddy! Nice to see you! This is my brother Joe. Joe, this is Ally's friend Austin."

Joe smiles and extends his hand in the back seat for me to shake. I cautiously shake it and smile, "Nice to meet you Joe." I say.

I wanted to say something else, like I've heard a lot about her or something, but I never have. I really don't know anyone in Ally's family besides her father. I know her mother died when she was younger, but we never talk about that, either. But I can tell that Joe is Lester's brother, they look so much alike, except Joe is wearing thick black round glasses.

The whole ride there, Trish and Ally mainly talk, about girl stuff like makeup and some boy singer that they are in love with. I spend most of the ride looking out the window, rolling my eyes at their conversations, or I listen in on Lester and Joe's conversation, which is no better than the girl talk. They are talking about their family, and it isn't good stuff.

When we're finally here, I realize that there are a lot of cars. I don't know if it's all the Dawson family, or it's just open to the public today, which it probably is. Though they could have rented the place out for the day, it was a family party after all.

We park next to a van and pile out. Ally comes out my door instead of Trish's, and grabs my arm to stop me. Trish, her father and uncle continue to walk away, leaving us. She looks up at me with concern on her face, "Austin." She says.

"What's the matter?" I ask.

"Well, I just have to warn you, my family can be crazy… And, they are expecting Dallas to be here with me. I only told my father and uncle about the breakup." She says.

"Okay." I say cautiously.

"Yes, so just ignore them if they start asking strange questions." She says.

"Okay, don't worry about it. I'm not." I say, smiling.

She hugs me, wrapping her arms around my neck, standing on her tipsy toes. I could barely hug her back before she pulled away quickly. Trish has stopped, and she's watching us, smiling, "Come on guys." She yells.

Ally and I smile at each other, before joining Trish. "What was that about?" Trish asks.

"I was warning him about my family." Ally says.

"Oh they aren't _that_ bad." She says.

"Well of course you'd say that, they aren't your family." Ally says, laughing.

We walk towards a giant tent, full of people under it; adults talking and drinking, little kids running around playing with different toys, and some teenagers already in the water. You would think we were late or something. We could be for all I know.

"God there is so many of them." Trish says.

"Yeah, well they are my aunts and uncles, plus their spouses and all their kids." Ally says.

"I didn't know you had such a big family." I say.

"Nobody does." She says.

"Hello darling!" A very skinny and very tall woman says, approaching us.

"Hello Aunt Helen." Ally says.

Helen grabs her and hugs her tightly. I almost thought Ally would start turning blue from lack of oxygen, but she finally let go, "You have gotten so big!" Helen says happily and then turns to us, "You too Trish!" She says, hugging her next.

"Hello Helen!" Trish says happily, hugging her. I guess Trish does know some of these people.

And then she turns to me, "You must be Dallas! Why you are so handsome!" She says, shaking my hand.

"Actually Aunt Helen, this is my friend Austin." Ally says. It's weird that Dallas has never met any of Ally's family. I guess their relationship wasn't as serious as I thought.

"It's nice to meet you." I say, grinning.

"Oh, well it's nice to meet you Austin! I meant what I said about being handsome though." She says, winking.

"Aunt Helen…" Ally groans.

"Thanks." I say, laughing.

"So, is Dallas out of the picture then?" Helen asks.

Ally just nods and Helen smiles and whispers something in her ear, causing Ally to smile and blush. We follow her over to the tent, where I meet tons of people. Ally introduces me first, so no one asks if I'm Dallas again. I met her Uncle John, Uncle Tom, Uncle Steve, then all of their wives, and some of their kids. The rest of their kids were swimming so that would have to be later. I didn't realize that her father had so many siblings.

They all seemed to really like me. Ally seemed really happy about that, too. When the food is ready, Helen, her husband, Trish, me and Ally all sit down at one table. I sit between Trish and Ally, her aunt and uncle across from us.

We start eating out grilled burgers and hot dogs when Helen starts the conversation, "So Austin, how long have you and Ally known each other?"

"About a year and a half I'd say." I tell her, taking a sip of my lemonade.

"Are you guys close?" She asks, smiling.

I turn to Ally, who has frozen with her fork close to her mouth. She looks at me and I smile at her, "I'd like to think so."

She takes her bite and nods in agreement, causing Helen to smile, "That's nice." She says.

"What are your interests Austin?" Mike, Helen's husband asks.

I shrug, "Well, I really love music, singing and playing the guitar." I admit. I'm suddenly afraid that I shouldn't have said that, but Ally is in their family, and she's into that, unless she hasn't told them either.

"That's fantastic! Just like my little Ally bug here!" Helen says.

Ally rolls her eyes, but blushes slightly, "Oh Aunt Helen." She says.

"Well it's true. You are extremely talented. Did you know that Austin?" She asks.

"Yes, yes I did. It's amazing." I admit.

"Oh, you know about it? That's awesome!" Helen says.

I feel like Ally and her aunt are close. It's like she knew that Dallas didn't know about Ally's passion, and was surprised that Ally shared that with me. It actually made me feel really good about it. Ally seems to really open up to me, and trust me, more than she did with Dallas.

"So you like to sing huh? Are you any good?" Mike asks.

"He's great! I'm helping him write a song for this contest at the beach at the end of the summer." Ally says.

Trish raises an eyebrow as she eats her pasta salad, looking from me to Ally. Ally looks at her and then me and her face drops. She totally forgot that no one was supposed to know that, but I guess it doesn't matter now that she and Dallas are over.

"That's awesome!" Helen says.

"Yes, it is…" Trish says.

"I'm sorry Trish. We will talk about it later." Ally says.

"Yes, yes we will." She says in an angry tone, but she winks at her after.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Helen asks suddenly during dessert.

Ally stops moving completely and shoots Helen a death glare. She sees it and raises her hands up in defense, "I was just wondering!" She says.

I laugh and pat Ally on the arm, "its okay. No, I don't." I say.

"That's surprising." She says.

"Oh look at the time, we should go swimming." Ally says, grabbing my arm, and then Trish's, pulling us away from the table as quick as possible.

We walk back to the car to get our bags. Trish grabs them all from the back seat as Ally leans against the car, her arms folded. She looks at me blankly and I smirk, "What are you smirking at?" She asks.

"Well, you." I say simply.

"Why?" She asks.

"Well because of the way you are reacting to your Aunt." She says.

"She's too much sometimes." She says.

"I think she's great." I tell her as Trish hands me my backpack.

"Of course you do, because she loves you." She says, taking her bag from Trish too.

"Well who wouldn't." I say, smiling.

Ally shoves me, but I barely move. Instead, I laugh at her while she gives me a pouting face. Trish sighs, "Okay guys, can we go change now." She says.

"Yes, Austin the guy's bathrooms are over there." She says, pointing.

I nod and walk over to them as they go over to the girl's ones. I open up the door and it's completely empty, and looks like no one ever comes in here. Like one of those bathrooms in horrors movies at random gas stations. I was almost expecting some axe murderer to be in the stall when I walked in. But it was just an old toilet.

I strip out of my clothes and slip on my swimming shorts. They are blue and white striped, and extremely comfortable. I throw my clothes back into my backpack after I take out my towel. I walk out of the bathroom and over to the girls building. I lean against the side of the building and wait. I knew that I would change a lot quicker than them. I mean, I only have to slip on shorts, and they have all those complicated ties.

Ally walks out first, she's in a tiny yellow bikini, one of the most revealing ones I've seen her wear, _and_ it's my favorite color. _The way you turn me on like a light switch_ I think to myself; stupid song, stupid me. I look away as she walks up to me. She leans against the wall next to me, smirking, "Is there a problem?" She asks.

"What? Why would there be?" I ask her.

"Well, once I came out here, you kept looking at the ground so I thought maybe there was a snake or something." She says, half laughing.

"Oh uh, yeah I have nothing to say." I tell her.

Trish walks out after, in a zebra bathing suit and a cheetah towel to match. She is _really_ into animal print. I've never been in her room, but I have this feeling that her walls are zebra or something. When she gets a car, it will probably be cheetah print.

"Are we ready?" Ally asks.

"Ready." Trish says.

We walk over to the spot where all of Ally's cousins were swimming. I noticed Ally doesn't really associate much with her cousins. A lot of them are either a lot younger, or a lot older. They wave at us, but stay in their own groups.

Trish and Ally walk in and let the water hit their feet. They both squeal slightly and I shake my head at them; Ally notices and glares at me. "It's cold!" She says.

"You are wimps!" I yell as I jump in, doing a cannon ball.

The water was a bit cold, but when I come up for air, I'm already used to it. I kick my legs and stay afloat, leaning backwards and floating like that. They watch me with angry expressions, causing me to laugh loudly, "It's so nice in here." I say, shaking my hair out like a wet dog.

"Ugh." Ally groans, and then jumps in.

She makes a huge splash next to me, and then comes up for air quickly, squealing some more, "You liar! It is SO cold!" She yells.

All I can do is laugh at her. I'm surprised she actually jumped in. She really does keep surprising me. And then she starts splashing me wildly, freaking out, "You jerk!" She yells.

"Hey!" I yell, splashing her back.

"Well when you kids are done, I'll be over there with some of your cousins." Trish says.

"You aren't coming in?" Ally asks.

"Nah, it's too cold for me." She says. But when she winks at me, I feel like it was her plan all along, to get us alone; dang that girl.

After Ally finally calms down and gets used to the water, we swim around for a bit, talking about different things. When we are about to wrinkle up from being in too long, we get out, stepping onto the sand. Ally looks around and stomps her foot, "Shoot!" She says.

"What?" I ask her.

"I forgot a towel." She says.

"Here," I say, grabbing mine, "Take mine, I don't need one." I say.

She smiles, "Thanks Austin."

She wraps it around her petite body and walks over to one of the empty picnic tables and sits down. I walk over and take a seat next to her. It feels just like when we are at the piano. She looks up at me and smiles, "Thanks for coming here with me; you don't know how much it means to me."

"No problem at all." I tell her.

"I've really enjoyed spending time with you these past two days." She says, putting her hand on mine on the table.

I look down at it, and she doesn't pull away. I look back at her and smile, "So have I."

"Guys, it's time to go!" Lester says suddenly. Ally pulls away awkwardly and rubs her neck.

"Well I guess it's time to go." She says, standing up.

"I guess so." I say, disappointed. I can still feel her fingers on mine, that electric touch lingering. _We touched hands and we pulled them back. _I think to myself.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven:**

"_There's no way I could make it without you."_

Ally and I are seated on the piano bench in the practice room. It's the morning after her families get together, and we're completely silent, thinking, focusing on the barely written song. I'm glad I'm not that tired, or I'd probably be asleep by now, after all of this silence.

"I'm talking about starting out as friends. I'm talking about real and not pretend. I'm talking about roles of a lifetime." She sings suddenly.

"You and I can even write the end, yeah." I sing after her.

Her face brightens, "That was awesome, and so quick. You're getting good at this." She says, writing down what I just sang, in her notebook.

I shrug, "I guess so." I say, smiling.

She starts to play what we already have. She messes up on one part; she can't find the right note to fit. After a while of messing around, it finally sounds right. She hums to herself and starts to sing again, "Here comes that movie scene, one you hate, so cliché."

"That sounds good." I say.

"Now, what's a cliché movie scene?" She asks.

I think for a while, rubbing my chin with my fingers, "That moment when we kissed, by the lake, pouring rain." I sing.

"Perfect!" She says, writing it down.

"I ain't no superman, but I can, change your world." I sing again.

"Okay, I thought you couldn't write songs?" She asks, laughing as she writes it down.

I shrug, "I learned from the best." I say softly.

She smiles a sad smile and starts playing the piano, "Oh here comes forever girl." She sings.

"I think we have the name of our song." I tell her.

"Here Comes Forever?" She asks. I nod, and she writes to down on the top of the paper.

"We have come a long way in just a few minutes!" She says happily, grinning.

I nod in agreement. I start playing a few chords on the piano, and she joins, playing the upper notes. We continue for a few minutes until our hands bump into each other. We both stop and look at each other, _we touched hands and we pulled them back_, my song replays in my mind.

Ally smiles at me and turns her attention back to the piano. I can't help but stare at her. I really think she is the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, and if I could, I'd stare at her forever, but she'd probably think I'm really weird, so I put my attention to the window.

When a while passes and we haven't thought of anything new, we decide to stop for the day. Ally stands up, straightens up her skirt and turns to me, "What are you doing the rest of the day?" She asks.

I shrug, "Probably nothing. What about you?" I ask.

"Well, Trish and I were going to go to some book sale, but she bailed on me." She says.

"Are you surprised? Trish isn't much of a reader." I say, "Unless it magazines." I say, laughing.

She laughs too, "You're right."

"Well of course I am!" I say.

She rolls her eyes, "Anyways. We should do something then." She says.

"Okay, what would you like to do?" I ask.

She shrugs, "Anything as long as I'm with you." She says.

I smile immediately, "Okay. We should go surfing!" I say happily, dancing around her.

"Uh I don't think that's a good idea." She says, putting her hands on her hips.

"Well why not?" I ask, putting on my best pouting face.

"I've never been!" She says.

"That's even better. I will teach you!" I tell her.

"But I'm clumsy." She admits.

"So? You'll do great." I tell her.

"I don't know Austin, what if I drown or something." She says, sincerely worried.

I walk over to her and put my hand on her shoulder, "I'd never let anything bad happen to you." I say, looking her in the eyes.

She smiles, not taking her eyes off mine. She takes a deep breath and nods, "Fine, I'll do it." She says.

"Awesome!" I say, putting my hand up for a high five.

She rolls her eyes but high fives me anyway, "You are way too excited about this." She says.

"Excited for surfing, or seeing you in your yellow bikini again? The world may never know." I say, winking at her. I don't know where I just got my boost of confidence right there, but I liked it.

"Austin!" She says, blushing and trying hard not to smile.

"Sorry, I had to." I say, shrugging.

"Just go home and get ready and I'll meet you at the surf shop!" She says, shoving me.

"Bye Ally." I say, grinning.

**Later…**

When Ally meets me at the surf shop, she's in a white see through dress that is over her, sure enough, yellow bikini. I grin when she walks in and she rolls her eyes, "I didn't wear this for you." She says.

"Sure you didn't." I tease.

"So, am I going to rent a surf board or what?" She asks, taking her sunglasses off and setting her tote bag down.

"Yes, I got this one for you." I say, grabbing it off the shelf and handing it to her. Her face lights up like a little kid on Christmas. It's her favorite color, red.

"I love it!" She says.

"I knew you would." I tell her.

"Too bad I'm going to fail on it." She says.

"Don't tear yourself down already!" I tell her.

She shrugs and grabs her tote bag, slinging it over her shoulder as she picks her surf board back up. I grab my yellow one and follow her out towards the beach. I bring her to my best surfing spot. She sets down her stuff and watches the waves come crashing in. Her expression turns to fear quickly and she sighs, "This was a bad idea." She says.

"Come on Ally, I told you I'll keep you safe. There is nothing to worry about." I tell her.

"I don't know…" She says.

I set my board down and walk up to her. I take her hands from her side and look down into her eyes. She's taken aback by my closeness, but I don't mind, "You'll be fine, I promise." I tell her.

"Uh, Oh- Okay." She stutters.

I back away from her and nod in approval. I lie her board down on the sand and teach her the basics about paddling and standing and everything. After I think she's got most of it down, I tell her she's ready for the water. I can tell that she is nervous still, but she doesn't refuse.

I paddle slowly next to her, letting her go at her own pace, I don't leave her side. When we get as far out as I want to, we stop and sit on our surf boards. She looks around and smiles, "It's really nice out here."

"I know, right. I love coming out here and just thinking." I tell her.

I look over and a decent wave for a first timer is heading our way. I grin wide and nod towards the wave at Ally. She looks at me, and then at the wave, and back at me, her eyes wide. She shakes her head furiously and I roll my eyes, "Come on Ally." I say.

"I don't think so." She says.

"Please." I say.

She rolls her eyes, "Fine, but when I die, you don't get any of my belongings!" She says, paddling towards the wave.

I watch her intently as she paddles away. She waits for the wave and starts heading back. She looks like she's been doing it her whole life, but she hasn't stood up yet. When she finally does, the wave takes her and she falls off. I jump off my board and swim to her. When she comes up for air I grab her waist and pull her to me. She gasps at first and moves the hair out of her eyes, "I told you!" She says.

"Told me what? I'm right here, like I promised, and you're fine. Hardly anyone ever stands up on their first wave." I say.

She looks like she's about to argue, but she sighs, deciding she doesn't have anything to argue with me about. I let go of her waist and grab her surf board, handing it to her. We paddle back to our spot before and wait. There's a big wave coming and I smirk, "Watch a pro." I tell her.

She rolls her eyes, but I ignore her and go for the wave. I stand up quickly and ride it all the way down. When there's nothing left of it, I jump off into the water. I grab my board and paddle back over to her, grinning wide.

She shoots me daggers and I stick my tongue out at her, "I know, I'd be jealous too." I say, flexing my biceps.

"You are so weird!" She says, smiling.

"I know." I tell her.

After a while of more waves coming and Ally either letting them pass or falling off of her board, we decided to call it quits. She acted like she was having a miserable time, but I could tell by her smiles that she wasn't miserable. We go back to the surf shop and give her surf board back, and then we walk towards her house.

"This was actually really fun, thanks for talking me into it." Ally says.

"No problem Ally." I tell her.

"Thanks for keeping your promise and not letting me drown." She says, smiling.

"No problem." I say, winking down at her. She smirks and punches me in the arm.

I rub it with my hand and frown, "You're going to break my arm the next time you do that!" I tease.

"Oh yes, because I'm so strong!" She says, trying to flex her invisible muscles.

"Obviously you are!" I say, stilling rubbing my arm.

"You're so sweet, making me look strong." She says softly.

"I know. I'm a nice guy." I say, shrugging.

We arrive in front of Ally's house just as the suns about to set. She slips on her over dress and sets her tote bag down. She looks up at me and smiles, "Thanks so much for a great day." She says.

And before I can say anything back, she gets on her tip toes and hugs me tightly around my neck. I smile and wrap my arms around her waist; enjoying the amazing feeling her touch gives me for as long as I can. She hugs me longer than I thought she would, and I can't complain.

She pulls away and looks up at me, "See you in the morning?"

"I wouldn't miss it." I tell her.

She smiles again, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Ally." I say.

I walk back to my house, smiling like crazy. I've never felt like this before; ever. I fall more in love with her every day, and it's killing me to be just her friend. But if that's all I'll ever be, I'm perfectly fine with it; as long as Dallas is out of the picture.

When I get to my house, Trish is on my front porch. I raise an eyebrow as I walk up my steps. She stands up off of one of my chairs and walks over to me, "Hey lover boy." She says.

"What are you doing here?" I question.

"Well, I was looking for you and your mother said you were gone with Ally and should be back soon, and well I didn't feel like going all the way back to my house." She says.

"You could have called me." I tell her.

"I know, but I wanted to talk about this in person." She says, sitting back down.

I follow her and sit down on the chair next to her, not taking my eyes off of her, my expression confused, "Talk about what?" I ask.

"Dallas." She says, sighing, "He heard that you and Ally have been spending extra time together." She says.

"Well how?" I ask.

"Well…." She says, drowning out the Ls.

"Trish…" I say.

"I kind of accidently said something to Dez about it and he told Dallas." She says.

I clench my fists, "Wow, I can't believe Dez, choosing Dallas over me." I say.

"I know…" Trish says.

"Okay, so how does Dallas feel about it?" I ask, but I can already guess.

"He's pissed, of course. And, he's going to try his hardest to get Ally back." She says, staring at the ground.

"And you think Ally will go for it." I ask, but it's really not a question.

She shrugs, "She may, or she may not. But we are talking about Ally here. She is very forgiving and believes in second chances, or in Dallas' cases, thousand chances. And plus, he's her first love…" she says.

I sigh, "I should've known things were too good to be true." I say, leaning back in my chair.

"Why, did something happen?" She asks.

"No not really, it's just we have been spending a lot of time together. And some of the things she says, just really sweet things, and the way she hugged me tonight… I don't know." I say, shrugging again.

"I don't know Austin. She may have feelings for you, but she loves Dallas. I know that's hard to hear, and I don't mean to be a bitch by saying it." She says.

"No, I understand. You're right. I should just back off anyway. She was Dallas' girl first. And though we may not be friends anymore, it wouldn't be right of me. Not that I ever had any intentions on dating her because I know how she feels." I say.

"You don't know for sure how she feels. And if you end up being the one she wants to be with then you should definitely go for it." She says.

"Well those are some mixed signals, Trish." I tell her.

She laughs nervously, "I know, this whole situation is difficult." She says.

"You're telling me." I say.

**Author's Note:**

****Hello everyone! I'm so pumped because i finally got over a hundred reviews! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, you all are the reason i keep writing! But i'm sorry if the end of this chapter makes you mad or anything... This is a drama story and all, so i have to keep it... dramaful ;) Love you alL!


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve:**

"_But you're the one that I can't have."_

When I arrive at Sonic Boom for our morning practice, I can tell after being there for five minutes that something is off about Ally. She's hasn't been saying much, and the distance between us on the piano bench is farther than usual. She sighs loudly as she messes up some chords, and then rests on her elbows, sighing once more.

"Don't worry Ally, we will finish this." I say, patting her on the shoulder.

"It's not that." She says, straightening up.

"Well what is it?" I ask, playing dumb; I know what it's really about.

"Nothing…" She says, standing up and walking to the window, looking out it.

I stand up and join her at the window, but instead of looking out it, I keep my eyes on her, "Yes you do." I say quietly.

She turns and looks up at me, her eyes searching all around my face. I don't know what she's searching for, but I don't do anything besides look into hers, "its Dallas." She says finally.

I nod and turn away from her, looking out the window. There are people everywhere; walking around the board walk or eating ice cream outside of the shop. They are either with their friends, their lovers, their family. It's like watching a scene from a movie or a television show.

"He showed up at my house last night." She says, though I didn't ask for any explanation.

"Oh." I say, keeping my focus on the people below.

"He begged me to take him back. Like literally, _begged_ me. He told me he's realized that he was acting like an idiot and he regrets it." She says.

I turn to her then, but now she's the one avoiding eye contact, "And what did you say?" I ask her.

"Well, at first I didn't believe it. But then he just kept saying all of this stuff…" She says.

"And you took him back?" I ask her.

She shakes her head, "No. But we're meeting at Mel's later to talk more." She says.

"Oh." I say again.

She turns to me then and looks up at me, but I look past her, "I wanted to know what you thought about it." She says.

I raise an eyebrow and finally make eye contact with her, "Why would you want to know that?"

"Well, I can talk to you about everything and I just thought you could help me with this." She says.

"I don't think I'm the one you want help with about relationships, or Dallas for that matter." I say, my voice rising slightly. I take a deep breath and sigh.

"I know that you and Dallas haven't been getting a long, but maybe you can settle that?" She says.

"Why would you even say that? You know what he did and how he's been treating me. He's only doing this because…" I start, but I stop myself.

"What?" She asks.

"Nothing, just forget it." I tell her.

"No, please tell me." She says, putting her hand on my arm. I move my arm away quickly, and she looks hurt by my actions.

"Look, if you want to forgive him and take him back, be my guest." I tell her, walking over to the piano bench to grab my backpack.

"Austin, I never said I was going to." She says.

"Well, if you weren't considering it than you wouldn't have a reason to have lunch with him." I tell her.

"Well I think I can at least talk with him, I owe him that." She says.

"Why do you owe him anything after the way he's treated you?" I ask.

"Austin, he's my first love, I just can't let him go this easy." She says. Those words felt like a thousand swords stabbing me in the chest. Trish was right about Ally, and I knew she was but there was a part of me that wasn't.

I nod my head at her and look down, slinging my backpack over my shoulder, "I have to go." I say, turning around and walking away. But she grabs my arm, stopping me. I turn back towards her but look down at my feet, afraid that she'll be able to tell exactly how I feel about her by seeing my face, "Austin, I'm sorry, I…" She stutters, but she doesn't say anything more. I nod as she lets go of my hand and I walk out of Sonic Boom.

As soon as I get outside I start to run and run, until I end up at Trish's house. I walk up onto her porch, and drop my backpack on the welcome mat beside me as I bang on the door. She opens it as I'm knocking again and I almost punch her in the face. She jumps back and yells a loud, "What the hell Austin!"

"I'm sorry." I say, still out of breath from running.

She looks me up and down and raises an eyebrow, "What's going on with you?"

"I was just at Sonic Boom with Ally, and sure enough Dallas begged her to take him back last night and she's having lunch with him today." I say.

She shakes her head, "Damn him. Well that doesn't mean that she's going to take him back."

"I don't know. She was acting weird and then she asked me what _I _thought about the situation and then I started to freak out on the inside and I said that if she wants to take him back be my guest and I started to leave and then she grabbed me and said she was sorry and then acted like she was going to say something else but didn't and then I left." I say all in one sentence. I try to catch my breath as Trish takes in everything I just said.

"That isn't good… But! She asked you what you thought about it and you had the opportunity to tell her." She says.

"Tell her what!" I say wide eyed, "No Ally, you can't take Dallas back because I'm in love with you!" I shout.

"Yes, that would have been fine to say." Trish says.

I roll my eyes, "I'm sorry Trish but it's really not that easy." I say.

"I know Austin, but now you could be losing Ally." She says.

I shake my head, "I never had her."

"You had a chance." She says.

"You don't know that." I tell her and shake my head, "I should just go home." I say.

"Austin I don't think you should be alone right now. Let's just go do something." She says.

"Like what?" I ask her.

She shrugs, "I don't know." She says blankly.

"That's helpful." I tease.

She rolls her eyes, "Let's just go hang out at the beach." She says.

"Fine, let's go." I tell her.

We walk to the beach and walk through the many crowds of people hanging out and doing whatever they please. I don't think I've ever been to this area of the beach when it wasn't really crowded. We find a spot in the sand and sit down, watching the wave's crash in front of us. I mind as well have went home, because this isn't getting my mind off of anything.

"Trish this isn't helping me." I tell her.

"I know, I'm sorry, I just couldn't think of anything for us to do." She says.

"I was thinking that we push Dallas down a well." I say.

She laughs loudly, "Good one, good one."

"I thought so." I say, grinning.

"How about we go get some food?" She asks.

"They will be there…" I say.

"Crap, I'm sorry. I have bad memory." She says, shaking her head at herself.

"It's fine." I say.

Suddenly her face brightens, "Let's make a sand castle!" She says, standing up. I look at her like she's crazy and shake my head.

"Well fine, you can watch _me _make a sand castle then!" She says.

And that's what we do. I watch her for a good hour making and tearing down a stupid sand castle that was always either too crooked or too small or didn't look right or wasn't castle-ey enough (her words). It was more than frustrating to watch, but I kept quiet and waited for her to eventually get tired of it herself. Finally, she sighs loudly, kicks it over and sits down next to me. I smirk at her until she notices and then I burst out laughing.

"What is so funny?" She asks.

"That hour of your life you just wasted." I say, laughing still.

"Gee, thanks!" She says.

"No problem." I tell her.

She checks the time on her phone, "It should be safe to be around the boardwalk by now." She says.

"You don't know that." I say.

"Well it's a public place and we shouldn't have to avoid it." She says, standing up.

"Well fine." I say, whining.

We walk across the busy boardwalk, trying to avoid bumping into other people. One girl was texting and almost ran right in front of me. It's a good thing I'm a ninja and moved out of the way fast enough. But then I suddenly regret it. What if it was fate for us to bump into each other and she happens to be my true love? What am I kidding? That can't happen because my true love is probably getting back, or is back with _her_ true love.

We walk by Mel's and look in, and when Ally and Dallas are nowhere in sight, we decide to go in to eat. To make this day worse, the only table available is the one that Ally and I shared breakfast on the other morning. Why does the world hate me?

I sigh as I sit down and look over the menu. I can feel Trish's eyes on me and I look at her, "What?" I ask.

"You look miserable." She says.

"I'm sorry." I say. I put on my fakest smile ever, causing her to glare at me.

"You're real funny Austin." She says.

Looking through the menu, I realize I'm not even that hungry. But I order some onion rings anyway. I cringe when Trish orders chocolate milk. _Man, this is going to be harder than I thought_ I think to myself. Everything reminds me of Ally, and it hurts.

Half way through our food, Trish's phone rings. She answers it and starts talking lowly, eyeing me. I eat my last onion ring and stare at her. When she hangs up, she sighs, "That was Dez." She says.

"Okay…" I say.

"He said that I should come over for a movie night, with him, Dallas… and Ally." She says.

I just look at her, completely still and lifeless. She notices my change of mood and shakes her head, "It doesn't mean it's what you think." She says.

"You know it does, Trish." I tell her, standing up, "I'm going home." I say.

[][][]

I grabbed a bunch of junk food and brought them down onto my basement. I sit down on my leather couch and stare blankly at the flat screen that is playing some movie I haven't even been paying attention to. By the time two bags of chips are gone, my phone beeps. I look at it and it's a text from Trish, asking if I'm okay. I ignore it and throw my phone across the rug, sighing loudly and pulling at my hair.

I hear the door bell ring through the house and I stay seated. I know that my mother or father will get it. I grab the remote and flip through the movie channels. Suddenly, I hear the basement door open and people talking, but I only hear one pair of footsteps walking down them. The stairs are behind me, but I don't bother looking back. I figure it's just my mother, but then she comes into view; she as in Ally.

**Author's Note:**

Thanks for all of the reviews! I'm gonna reply to a few on here that i really likeed (:

**_Jodie'xo:_**

**_Does Austin have OCD in this? He cleans a lot Lol_**

Me; Lol, no i don't think he does... His parents just really like to use him as their slave.

**maddiegirl56:**

**This story makes me feel... FEELINGS!**

Me: Haha well then i think i am succeeding with this story(:

**randomsmileyperson:  
**

**I really don't want Ally to forgive Dallas! Update!**

Me: Who does? Definitely not me!


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen:**

""

I just stare at her as she stands in front of me, looking me over. I must look really pathetic; chips and junk food surrounding me, my wrinkled white tee shirt and out of this world crazy hair. I straighten up and brush off the crumbs surrounding my shirt and pants, "What are you doing here?" I ask.

"You wouldn't answer my texts and then Trish said you wouldn't answer her either so I came looking for you. Your father said you were down here." She says.

"Oh." I say.

She sits down at the other end of the couch and looks me over again, "Why are you like this?" She asks.

I shrug, "Lazy day." I say.

"Right…" She says, raising an eyebrow.

I put my attention back to the TV, acting like I was really interested in it, even though I just barely turned it on. She sighs and leans back on the arm of the chair, "Look, I talked with Dallas and we aren't back together, in case you're wondering." She says.

"I wasn't." I say rudely.

"Oh." She says lowly.

I turn to her and she's playing with her hands, "Why not?" I ask, softer than before.

"I told him that I had to think about it." She says.

Well way to kill off my better mood already, jeez, "Oh." I say. Man, we both say oh a lot.

"But really, why do you seem bummed?" She asks.

"I'm not, really. I just felt like being lazy and eating junk food since I don't have any friends to hang out with anymore." I say.

"Is Dez still on Dallas' side?" She asks.

I nod, "And I guess you are too." I say.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asks, letting her hand sit neatly on her lap.

"I know that you all are hanging out tonight." I say, shrugging.

"Well it's just as friends." She says.

"Sure." I say.

"Why do you care anyway?" She asks.

Because I love you! "Because we're friends and I care about you. I don't want to see you more hurt than you already are." I say.

"What makes you think I will get hurt more?" She asks.

"Well, because it's Dallas. No matter how much he says it, he never changes. He hasn't changed in the years I've known him and I don't see him changing now." I say.

"But you don't know that for sure." She says.

"Is it worth the risk?" I ask.

"Sometimes you have to take risks, even if it could ruin things. You never know until you try." She says.

I just shake my head, "Well you wanted my opinion." I say.

She nods and stands up, "I know. I guess I just thought you'd tell me what I wanted to hear."

I stand up in front of her and look down at her, "And what's that?" I ask.

"Nothing; never mind." She says, turning around. This time I grab her wrist gently and pull her back to me. She's slightly surprised but she looks up into my eyes, "Just be careful." I practically whisper at her. She keeps eye contact with me for a few long moments. Our bodies are so close and I ache to kiss her, but instead she nods and I let her go as she turns around and walks away, up my basement stairs. I run my hands through my hair and sit back down, realizing I just let the girl I'm in love with walk away.

**The next morning…**

I walk downstairs after sleeping in, still in my white tee shirt and boxers. I didn't go to Sonic Boom to meet up with Ally. I know it's going to upset her, piss her off even, but I just couldn't go there without saying something I would regret. She could be back with Dallas right now, and I really just don't want to know.

I grab the note from my mother on the table. It's her day off but she went out shopping for the rest of the afternoon. I realize that I don't have any chores, which means I'm going to be having another boring day. I really miss having some guy time with Dez, but I guess I should get used to it.

When I'm about to grab a glass of water, the doorbell rings. I sign and walk over to the door. I open it and reveal Ally standing there, her arms crossed and she's tapping her foot. It's her signature stance for; _I'm pissed_. She looks me up and won and scolds me, "Where were you this morning, boxer boy?"

I look down sleepily at my cloud boxers and shrug, looking back at her, "I wasn't feeling it today." I tell her.

"You weren't feeling it huh? Well you could have at least called. I was worried sick, and here you are, just hanging out in your pajamas without a care in the world." She says, waving her arms around frantically.

"Not a care in the world? I wish." I say rudely.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asks.

"It means I have some problems of my own you know." I say.

"Like what!" I ask.

"Nothing okay, why are you acting like this?" I ask.

"Well because I just heard that the stupid contest that I'm helping you write the stupid song for has been moved up, to next weekend!" She shouts.

"Why? It's nowhere near the end of summer." I say.

"Yeah, well they decided they didn't want to wait until then and that they would get more people if it was next week or something like that." She says, shrugging.

"So we're screwed." I say, leaning in the doorway.

She nods, "Pretty much. And we lost a day because of you!" She says.

I raise my hands up in defense, "I'll go get dressed and we can go now."

"I can't." She says, staring at the ground.

"Well why not?" I ask.

"Me and Dallas are going for ice cream…" she says lowly.

"Oh, that's nice." I say, fake smiling.

She shrugs, "So tomorrow?" She asks.

"Sure." I say.

Stupid Dallas and his stupid face with his stupid ice cream and his stupid guilt trip and his stupid everything.

**The next morning…**

"This is hopeless." I groan, banging my head off of the piano keys.

She grabs my hair and pulls at it, "Stop! You're going to hurt my piano!" She says.

I rub my head in the spot she pulled and make a grumpy face, "Your piano? What about my head!" I say.

She rolls her eyes, "You're never going to win that money with half a song." She says.

"No, it will be fine. I'll start a new trend. I mean, nobody listens to a full song these days anyway!" I say.

She looks at me and bursts into laughter, "You are so right… But we still need a full song." She says.

"Ugh!" I yell.

"Okay let's not lose focus." She says, rubbing her temples.

"This ain't no, twilight movie…" I sing.

"That's pathetic." She says.

"Well you are pathetic!" I say.

"Well that's mean." She says, standing up. She looks down at me and crosses her arms.

"Will you stop that?" I say.

"Stop what?" She asks.

"This!" I say. I stand up in front of her and mirror what she's doing. She looks me over and then looks at herself and starts laughing.

"Oops." She says.

"You do it all the time when you're mad!" I say.

"I do not!" She says, crossing them again and stomping her foot. I shake my head at her and grab her elbows, locking them to her sides. I keep my grip on them, "okay, get mad at me and try not to cross them."

"That's easy!" She says.

"You are the worst song writer in the history of the world." I tell her. Her face turns red and I feel her arms moving in my grip.

"You are trying to move them!" I shout.

"I am not!" She says.

She turns around and gets out of my grip and starts to run away. I run after her and catch her by her waist, spinning her around, laughing.

"What's going on here?"

We both stop in our tracks and look in the doorway where Dallas is leaning in the doorway, watching us. Ally moves away from me and straightens up, "What are you doing here?" She asks.

"I was just coming by to see you." He says, giving me a death glare.

"That's sweet." She says, trying to smile.

"What are you guys doing?" he asks, walking into the room.

"Nothing, Austin just came in to say hi and was just leaving." She says. I look at her with slight shock that she's just going to throw me out like that, but I shouldn't be surprised.

"Yes, right." I say. I brush past Dallas without saying a word.

I stop and turn around in the doorway and Dallas walks up to Ally and hug's her. She sees me from over his shoulder and looks away quickly. I shake my head and shut the door behind me. As I walk down the steps of Sonic Boom, my song appears back in my brain, _but you're the one that I can't have_. Yes Austin, she's the one you can't have, that's for sure.

I walk over to Mel's and take a seat at the bar. I order myself a large strawberry milkshake, extra think. The waitress bats her eyelashes at me and pops her gum but I don't pay any attention to her. I haven't noticed any other girls since I realized my feelings for Ally.

When I'm almost done with my shake, Ally walks in. She scans the room and when she finds me she walks over. She takes a seat next to me, but doesn't make eye contact, "How's your shake?" She asks.

"How's Dallas?" I ask.

"He's angry." She says.

"Is he? Well about what?" I ask.

She turns and searches my face, "About us hanging out this morning." She says.

"Well he's changed a lot." I say sarcastically.

She sighs, "Look Austin, I don't think we should do it anymore…" She says.

"Do what?" I ask.

"Meet up in the mornings." She says, picking at her fingernails.

"What why?" I ask.

She shrugs, "I shouldn't sneak around like that." She says.

"We're just writing a song." I say.

She sighs again, "I know, but we're hanging out and I guess he has the right to be a little angry about it."

"So you're just going to abandon me like this?" I ask, shoving my glass out of the way.

"Austin I'm not abandoning you, it's just" She starts.

"Ally you promised you would help me with this, and now you're just bailing on me like this, for Dallas, whose bailed on you way more than I ever have." I say angrily, standing up.

Her face drops as she looks up at me, "I just… I didn't mean…" She starts.

"You know what Ally, save it." I say.

I turn and walk away from her, and right out of the restaurant. The ache in my chest is powerful as I jog back to my house. I can't believe this is happening, I really can't. I can't believe I thought I actually meant something to Ally, but I can see that I never did. I guess I was just a distraction from Dallas for a little while.

When I walk in my front door, my parents are seated on the couch, sipping wine. I shut the door behind me and they both look up at me, "Hello Austin." My mother says.

"Hi." I say blankly.

"Are you alright, you look sort of pale." My father says.

"I'm just dandy." I say, throwing off my shoes, letting them fly and hit the bin we keep them in.

I wave at them and then run up my stairs, shutting my door lightly behind me. I walk over to my bed and fall dramatically on it, sighing loudly. I take my pillow and lay it over my face. If it suddenly came alive and started suffocating me I wouldn't mind at all right now. Life sucks, girls suck, ex best friends suck.

After a while of feeling back for myself, I get up, strip into just my boxers and pick up my old beaten up guitar. I sit back down on my bed and set it on my lap, "No nice new electric guitar for me." I say out loud.

I strum a few chords and start playing around with it. I start humming the words of the song I wrote and it fits nice, "I'm in love with someone else's girl, you rock my world." I sing out loud.

"Is that a new song?" Someone's voice comes from the doorway.

I practically jump out of my skin to the sound and look over to see Trish leaning in the doorway. I freeze and stare at her, "What the hell Trish! I'm hardly dressed." I say.

"I've seen you in your bathing suit, what's the difference?" She says, coming in and sitting down on my desk.

"Who let you in here?" I ask.

"Your dad did." She says. Wow, he really needs to stop doing that.

"So what was that, what you just sang?" She asks.

I shrug, "I don't know."

"You are a liar. You wrote a song about Ally, didn't you?" She asks, grinning.

"It doesn't matter." I say, playing a random melody.

"It does though." She says.

"Ally told me this morning that our song deal was off, she's not helping me anymore." I say.

Her eyes widen, "You're joking."

"I wish I was. Dallas caught us hanging out there this morning and he got her to put a stop to it." I say, shrugging.

"What about the contest?" She asks.

"I'm not doing it." I tell her.

"Play me your song." She says.

I shake my head, "No way."

"Please!" She says.

"It's terrible." I tell her.

"Play it!" She says.

I sigh loudly but I give in. I start playing the few chords that sounded good and I sing her the song. She smiles the entire time and even bobs her head to the music. When I'm done, she claps dramatically, "That was awesome and kind of sad all at the same time." She says.

"Uh, thanks I think." I say.

"So you are going to play that at the beach contest right?" She asks.

"Are you joking? I could never!" I say.

"Well why not?" She asks.

"Well if Ally goes, she will figure out it's about her, and it's just bad and I can't…" I blab.

"You need to sing it." She says.

"It will ruin things. I'm pretty sure she is back with Dallas." I say.

"Then the song is accurate." She says.

"Ally will hate me." I say.

"Or maybe it will open her eyes!" Trish says, "And she will realize that you are the one she should be with."

"I really doubt it Trish." I say.

"Whatever, just think about it okay? I have to go." She says, standing up.

"See you Trish." I say to her back.

**Author's Note:**

As I have said before, don't hate me! (: Also, I can't believe how many reviews I have gotten the past couple of days! Almost at a 150(: Thank you all so much, I love you!

**amillipede said:**

_This is such a great story! I love it! Can't wait to read more! :) Why is Dez choosing Dallas over Austin?_

Me: Thanks! And about Dez… Well that is the question isn't it!

**W****R5Forever**** Said:**

_Okay so I'm dying._

Me: No! Don't Die! You need to stay alive so you can find out what happens! :O

**maddiegirl56 said:**

_Oh my holy goodness WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME?! DO YOU LIKE MAKING MY LIFE SO WONDERFUL YET MISERABLE?! *screams in happiness and frustrations and then dies*_

Me: Not more dying! I am so sorry… I think? I'm glad you… like it? Hahahaha


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen:**

"_You might be crazy, but baby, I'm falling for you."_

It's the morning of the beach contest, and it's also been five days since Ally and I have spoken. She and Dallas are officially back together now. Dez is still on his side, and my life is officially terrible. Trish is still on my side though, and I guess that's all that matters now. Who needs a bunch of friends if you have one good one?

Ally and I have crossed paths plenty of times; at Mel's, at the beach, even at Sonic Boom when Trish insisted we went in there for a new strap for my guitar. Ally casually cashed us out like we were just another customer; Trish glared at her the entire time, Ally avoided eye contact.

I strum a few chords on my guitar and sigh loudly. Trish is seated at my desk, looking over my song, "You guys were in a taxi cab?" she asks curiously.

I shake my head, "No, I just needed something to start it." I say.

She nods her head and sets it down, "So are you ready for tonight?" She asks.

"No not at all." I say.

She sighs, "Why not?"

"Well I'm singing a song about a girl that has no interest in me and has a boyfriend." I say.

"You don't know that!" She says.

"Trish, she has avoided me all week." I tell her.

"Yes, because she knows she is wrong. She can't even look at you because she feels so guilty, and confused." She says.

"I really doubt that, but thanks for being so positive." I say.

She rolls her eyes, "Whatever Austin, so meet me at the beach at six, alright?" She asks, standing up.

"I will." I say.

"Try not to psyche yourself out before the show." She says.

"No promises." I say, shrugging.

After she leaves, I go downstairs, where my father is seated at the bar and my mother is flipping pancakes over the stove. My stomach does its own flip when I notice. I turn around to leave the room but my father stops me, "What are you up to Austin?" he asks.

I take a deep breath and walk back in the room. I go onto the other side of my father and lean against the counter, "Nothing much."

"Don't you want some pancakes?" She asks, setting down a plate full of them onto the counter. I haven't touched a pancake since Ally and I ate at Mel's. I can't seem to stomach them now. I don't know what I thought was so great about them anyways.

"No thanks." I say. I walk over to the refrigerator and take out a small jug of apple juice.

"Did Austin Moon just decline pancakes?" My father asks, eyeing me over his paper.

I shrug, "I'm just not really hungry." I say.

"You haven't been hungry these past couple of days… Is everything okay?" my mother asks.

I try my hardest to smile, "Everything's fine mom." Her frown makes me think that I failed epically at smiling a convincing smile. I then leave the room as fast as I can to avoid more questions that I didn't want to answer.

I go back up to my room and set down my juice. I pick up my paper and look over the song I entitled '_I Want You Bad'_. This is such a terrible idea, I know it is. But Trish seems to think it is her most brilliant plan ever. I feel like I have to trust her on this one. All that is going through my head is what Ally said to me that day at my house, about taking risks. Was that some sort of hint, or am I over thinking it; probably the second one. I mean, if she liked me like Trish seems to think she does, why would she have taken Dallas back? Maybe I really just don't understand relationships.

**Later that night…**

It's almost time for me to meet Trish at the beach. I put on my tan long shorts, my white tee shirt and my blue short-sleeved dress shirt over it, unbuttoned. I run my hands through my messy hair and sigh in front of my mirror. This is such a mistake, _such_ a mistake.

I grab my guitar, sling it over my shoulder and head over to the beach. As I walk through the boardwalk, I notice the huge line forming outside of the giant stage that has been set up and I get even more freaked out. I didn't realize it was such a huge event. Everyone is going to watch me make a fool out of myself.

I go back stage and finally find Trish. She is all dressed up and grinning when she walks up to me, "You look good! Are you ready?" She asks.

I shake my head furiously, "I've only been nervous to go on stage once. I was five and it was a talent contest for my school, and I refused to go out, and then I think I threw up back stage. I feel like throwing up, Trish." I tell her.

"Oh god, please don't throw up." She says.

"I've never been this nervous in my entire life. This could go so bad." I say, running my hands through my hair once again.

"Or it could go really good." She says, smiling. She puts her hand on my shoulder, "You'll do great." She says.

"What if it doesn't go good, Trish? This could start a lot of bad things." I say.

"You don't even know if Ally will realize it's about her." She says.

I raise an eyebrow at her and she sighs, "Okay, she will. But don't worry. Just go out there and be yourself and own it!" She says.

"This is a huge risk." I say.

"I know." She says.

[][][][]

"And now, I present to you, Austin Moon, singing an original song!" The announcer says.

I turn to Trish with panic on my face and she gives me thumbs up. The crowd goes crazy with applause and I can barely hear anything. The lights are shining on me and I can't see. I feel like I'm going deaf and blind all at once. I wipe the sweat off of my forehead and walk over to the microphone in the middle of the stage. I bring my guitar forward and strum the first chord; the band behind me starts too. _This is it Austin. You have to take a risk. _I think to myself.

"In the back of a taxi cab one, quick turn you were on my lap we, touched hands and we pulled them back, yeah, I want you bad." I sing out loud. The crowd is still cheering for me, and I start to slightly get un-nervous. I also can't find Ally in the crowd, or Dallas. That makes me feel slightly better. It's better for them not to hear it all, even though it would defeat the purpose of me singing it right now.

"And even though it should be so wrong I, can't help but feel this strong cause, the way you turn me on like a light switch, I might just, go crazy." I sing, setting down my guitar and feeling the music. I start to dance along.

"Cause you're my best friends baby, but you've got me thinking maybe, just maybe, I don't know what to do." And that's when I see her; Ally, alone in the front row, staring right up at me.

I move my eyes away from her and force the chorus out of my mouth, "I'm in love with someone else's girl, you rock my world. But you're the one that I can't have, girl, I want you bad. In my crazy mind, I'm with you all the time, cause you're the best I've never had, oh girl I want you bad."

And when I look at her again, her face is full of shock, and I don't know what else. I dance around the stage and let lose, really feeling the song. These are the moments I know I was born to perform, "So hard to just pretend, it sucks. You're his girl and he's my friend, no, good way for this to end, yeah, I want you bad."

"I wish someone could help me, this is just so unhealthy! And everything you've got just kills me, going guilty, go crazy, cause you're my best friends baby. But you got me thinking maybe, just maybe, I don't know what to do!"

And then comes the chorus again, and a repeat of me saying 'I want you' and the song is over. The crowd goes wild when I'm done. I bow politely and run off stage. Trish is standing just off of it and she's jumping up and down clapping, "You totally rocked it!" She says, high fiving me, "How do you feel?" She asks.

"I feel awesome! That was amazing!" I tell her.

After a few more contestants perform, the announcer says he has the judge's votes. All of us get into a group back stage and listen. In third place are two sisters from another state that sang 'Call Me Maybe'. Trish squeezes my arm as they announce second place, which goes to this guy that played a song on the piano I've never even heard of.

"So I either didn't place…" I say.

"Or you got first." Trish says.

She squeezes my arm tighter as the announcer speaks again, "And now, in first place, with what the judges say was the best performance they have seen in many years of judging, goes to, Austin Moon!" He yells.

The crowd goes wild and Trish screams with excitement, hugging me quickly as I walk onto stage. I can't believe it, I won! I get the thousand bucks and I get to buy my dream guitar! I meet halfway with the announcer on stage and he hands me a trophy and a giant check, "What would you like to say to everyone and the judges Austin?" He asks.

"I'd just like to say thanks! This is so awesome!" I say.

After the crowd cheers one more time, I walk off the stage and I'm shocked to see Ally standing next to Trish. Trish is talking with her and I walk over slowly. Ally notices me and smiles, "Congrats Austin." She says; yeah no thanks to you.

"Thanks." I say, staring at the ground.

"Your song… It was really good…" She says slowly.

"Thanks…" I say, looking up at her.

Trish looks from her to me and mouths tell her. I shake my head slowly. Ally notices and looks from Trish to me, "Anyway… I just wanted to say that." She says, and then walks away.

"Why didn't you say something?" Trish whisper yells.

"If she doesn't get that it's about her, well, she isn't as bright as I thought." I say, half laughing.

"Well, she was pretty pale and speechless, I think she knows." Trish says.

I shrug, "Well, there's nothing I can do about it now." I look around, "Was Dallas here?"

"I don't know. I didn't see him." She says.

"Well that's a plus." I say.

"Ugh this is so frustrating." She says.

"You're telling me. But I have a thousand bucks!" I say happily.

"Yes, good job." She says, high fiving me again.

I walk Trish home and then walk home myself. I'm still carrying my trophy, looking it over and I notice Ally seated on my front steps. I feel my stomach do another flip and I really want to turn around and run away but that would be a little cowardly. I take a deep breath and walk over to her. She stands up, straightening up her skirt and looks up at me, "Hi." She says.

"Hello." I say causally.

"Look Austin, your song…" She says.

"What about it?" I ask.

"The words… Are they true, or was it just something you made up." She asks.

"What if they were true?" I ask.

She shrugs, "Are they?"

"Does it matter?" I ask.

She sighs, "You know, you confuse me so much! And make me so mad sometimes."

I laugh, "I confuse _you_? Me… That's funny." I say.

"Just forget it." She says. She brushes past me and I realize I can't let her walk away from me again, because if I do I may lose her for good.

"Stop, Ally." I say, turning around to face her. She stops and turns to me.

"Fine; the damn song I wrote is about you and Dallas. Don't you get it? Didn't you hear the words? They are all true, they are how I feel. You drive me completely crazy and I am so in love with you Ally." I say softly.

Her mouth hangs open at little. I don't think because she's too surprised, I think it's because I actually said those words out loud. She looks down at her feet, "But Dallas..."

"I know, and that's why I left you alone. But you ditched me and I needed a song for the contest and that's what I wrote." I tell her.

"Why didn't you tell me how you felt before?" She asks.

"Before you and Dallas got back together? Because I know how you feel about him and I didn't want to screw things up for anyone. Being your friend is better than being your nothing." I say.

"What if I told you I just broke up with Dallas…?" She says, keeping her eyes on the ground.

My heart starts beating fast, "Why would you do that?" I ask.

She looks up at me then, into my eyes and I think my heart might burst right out of my chest, "Because when I lie in bed at night and start thinking about everything, you're the only one that comes to my mind, no one else. The way you make me feel; Dallas couldn't ever make me feel that way after all this time. That's when I realized there's only one person I really love, and that's you." She says.

I get the electric feeling I got when I first realized my feelings for her. Hearing those words come out of her mouth, I felt like I could be dreaming this whole thing, and before I could control myself, before I possibly woke up from this beautiful dream, I pressed my lips to hers.

**Author's Note:**

I hope you all liked this chapter, it's an important one! It's the moment you all have been well apparently dying for! :D

**Stheffie-Cullen-Malfoy said:**

_ALLY DID WHAT? Oh my poor Austin.. You know what... I love the Trish in your story..  
She's awesome.. Ally is kind of naive... Austin need to sing that song!_

Waiting the update.

*pulls her hair until She's bald*

Me: I really love Trish in this story too. (: Don't pull your hair out! I'm sure its very nice hair!

**AUSTINALLY FAN said:**

_That was sad but amazing! I can't wait for more!_

Me: Thanks!


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen:**

"_Here comes forever girl."_

When she kisses me back I'm struck with the realization that this is indeed not a dream. I'm kissing the love of my life… and it's about damn time.

We pull apart and I cup Ally's as into my hands, looking into her eyes, "Do you mean it?" I ask, searching her face.

"I do." She says, nodding lightly and not breaking eye contact.

"What the hell is this?" Dallas' voice comes from behind me.

Ally and I both turn around and see him standing on the sidewalk. His fists are clenched at his sides and he looks furious. Ally backs away from me and drops her shoulders, "So you break up with me a half hour ago and then go kiss Austin? So is this why you dumped me?" He asks.

"Dallas, it's not…" I say.

"Save it, 'best friend'." He says, using air quotations.

I laugh, "You can't throw that in my face now buddy, you ruined that yourself a while ago." I say.

He walks up to me and gets right in my face, "Why would you steal my girl? You wouldn't even know her if it wasn't for me."

"I didn't steal her away from you. You pushed her away yourself." I say, standing my ground.

"You don't know shit about me and Ally's relationship." He says.

"I know enough." I say.

"I can't believe either of you." He says, turning to Ally. I can tell she's fighting back tears, and I know she feels really bad about this.

"I'm sorry." Ally whispers.

"Save it, bitch." Dallas says.

"Don't you ever talk to her like that again." I say through my teeth.

"Oh what are you going to do about it, superstar?" He says, getting back in my face.

"You should leave." I say.

"Make me." He says.

"You know I won't fight you." I say. And it's true. I'm not one to start fights, or be involved in one. I don't believe in violence. It never helps anything.

I turn around to walk away but Dallas grabs my shoulder, turning me around and punching me right in the jaw. Ally squeals as I fall onto my back. Dallas towers over me and kicks me right in the ribs. Right when he's going to do more, Dez appears out of nowhere. He grabs Dallas and shoves him to the side, "What the hell are you doing?" Dez asks him.

"I'm going to be that crap out of him." Dallas says.

Dez looks to Ally who is now quietly sobbing, and then at me as I attempt to get up. I stumble and stay on one knee, holding my side. "What happened?" He asks.

"Austin stole Ally from me, and then he attacked me, I had to fight back." He says.

"Dallas, just leave." Dez says.

"Why should I?" He asks.

"No one wants you here." Dez says.

"What? He started it!" Dallas says.

"I know Austin, and he'd never start a fight. Just leave man." Dez says.

"You guys are all idiots." Dallas says. He looks down at me, "You better watch yourself." And I laugh at him as he walks away.

Dez walks over to me and sticks his arm out. I look up at him and he smiles only slightly. I grab his hand and let him help me up. Ally walks over and is at my good side, under my arm, helping me up. I put my arm around her shoulder and she cries into my side, "I'm so sorry." She says.

"It's not your fault." I tell her.

Dez stands awkwardly in front of us, his hands in his pocket. He stares at the ground and kicks around some dirt, "Look man, I'm really sorry; I shouldn't have done what I did to you." He says.

I nod, "Thanks for stopping Dallas." I say.

"I know how he can get when he's pissed. I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner." He says, eyeing my throbbing jaw.

"It's alright man." I say.

He walks over and we do our handshake we made up in 6th grade. He smiles big and pats me on the shoulder, "Really sorry." He says.

"I know." I tell him.

After Dez leaves, Ally walks me onto my porch and we sit down on my swing. I groan in pain slightly as I sit. She looks me up and down, "Should we bring you to the hospital?" She asks.

I shake my head, "Its fine, just bruises." I say.

She shakes her head and puts her face in her hands, "This is my entire fault. I was so stupid. I should have told him the real reason. I just told him that my feelings changed, which is true, but I didn't tell him about you. I guess I should have, but I was afraid this would happen, but it happened anyway, of course." She says.

"It's not your fault Ally. You had no control over this situation. I don't care what happened to me, as long as it was me and not you." I tell her.

She moves closer and hugs me tightly. She cries for a little longer, and I can understand why. I know this is really hard for her, harder for her then me. I can't believe what Dallas called her earlier. It makes me wonder how many bad things he's called her before. But I'm just glad he's out of her life now, I hope. I know he will be back, but this time I'll have to be ready to fight back. I'm not letting this happen again.

I decide to walk Ally home. I don't want her alone at night walking when Dallas could be around. The aches in my ribs are still there, and I know they are probably bruised, but that's better than broken. It's going to suck trying to hide the bruise on my jaw from my parents. It's probably going to be impossible to hide it actually.

I walk onto her porch with her and we stand in front of the door. She looks up at me and sighs at my bruise, "I'm sorry."

"You've said that, and you don't have to be." I tell her, grabbing her hand.

"Thanks for sticking up for me tonight." She says.

"Yes, anytime." I tell her.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" She asks.

"You know it." I tell her.

She smiles up at me and I lean down, kissing her softly. I pull away after a moment and smile down at her, "I love you." I whisper.

"I love you too." She says back.

**The next morning…**

I wake up and jump into the shower, taking my time so I wouldn't have to see my parents before work. I was thinking of asking Ally to use some of her makeup to cover up my face for a little while, just until the bruise is smaller and I can blame it on a freak accident. But right now, if I faced my parents, they would know it was a nice punch. It was a huge black and blue mark, in the usual right hook spot.

I throw on a tee shirt and pants; run my hands through my messy wet hair and head downstairs. As I'm walking down them, someone is suddenly pounding on my front door. That's odd, because normally everyone uses my doorbell. As I walk over to it, I realize it could possibly be Dallas. I open it slowly, and am relieved when I see Trish standing there. She's grinning until her eyes go right to my bruise and her jaw drops, "What happened to you!"

"Uh, Dallas punched me." I say casually.

"What!" She practically screams.

I motion for her to come in and I shut the door behind her. She takes a seat on my couch and I sit down on the chair. She stares at me and waits for me to start but I don't say anything. Her eyes bulge out of her head like a pug dog and she says, "Well are you going to tell me!"

"Oh right um so Ally showed up at my house last night." I say. Trish nods and motions for me to go on.

"Well I finally told her how I feel about her and come to find out she had just broke up with Dallas a little while before and feels the same way about me." I say.

Trish grins wide, "I told you so!" She yells.

"Yeah yeah I know. Anyways, so uh I kissed her and when we pulled away Dallas was kind of standing there." I say, feeling the ache in my ribs.

"Well that's not good." Trish says.

"No. So he starts freaking out, punches me in the face and gives me a good ole kick in the ribs while I'm done. Then Dez appears and stops him. If it wasn't for Dez, I'd probably be in the hospital." I say.

Her eyes widen, "Wow. And I missed all that drama." She says, shaking her head.

"Wow, I'm glad that's what you care about." I say, laughing.

"Sorry, but that's horrible." She says.

"I know. Dallas is such a jerk, it's unbelievable." I say.

"Well, you knew he'd react like that." She says.

"I know, but I didn't know he was there! And now Ally is beating herself up about it, saying it's her fault and all that." I say.

"Well, she probably should have told Dallas about you and her but I understand why she didn't." She says, shrugging, "So are you guys together now?" She asks.

I shake my head, "No, I don't know. Everything is complicated. We didn't really talk about it." I say.

"So are you and Dez cool now?" She asks.

"I think so. It's going to be a little weird for a bit, but he apologized and he really helped me. It'd be wrong to not forgive him." I say.

"Are you going to be seeing Ally today?" She asks.

"I believe so." I tell her.

She looks over my face, "How did you hide that from your parents?"

"I waited until they left to come down." I say.

"Well good luck hiding that." She says.

"Thanks, you're such a great friend Trish." I say sarcastically.

She grins, "I'm your best friend, don't like to me." She says laughing.

I roll my eyes, "Yeah yeah." I say.

[][][][]

"So, my Aunt Helen's oldest daughter is getting married in a couple weeks." Ally says. She sits down Indian style across from me on the floor.

"I didn't know your aunt had a daughter that old." I say.

"Yeah she wasn't at the picnic." She says.

We are in the practice room, just hanging out while her father works for her downstairs. It's weird to be hanging out in here and not making music.

"Oh well that explains it." I say.

"Yeah, but anyways, I was wondering if you'd like to be my date to the wedding." She says.

"I'd love to." I say, smiling.

She smiles back and nods, "Great! It's going to be so much fun. I love weddings." She says.

"I've actually never been to one." I admit.

"Well, the reception is definitely the best part." She says.

"Where is the wedding?" I ask.

"It's outside on the other side of the beach, and then the reception is at the park where we had the picnic." She says.

"That sounds nice." I say.

"Yes and I know everyone will be thrilled that your coming. They all love you. Aunt Helen hasn't stopped talking about you since." She says.

"You two are close huh?" I ask.

"Yes, very. She's like a mother to me." She says.

"Ally, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your mother?" I ask softly.

Her face goes blank and she sighs, "I haven't talked about it in years."

I slide over and sit next to her, facing her, "You don't have to really, I was just wondering. You don't have to talk about it until you're ready." I say.

"No, it's okay. I want to tell you." She says, "It's just kind of hard to talk about."

"I know." I say, running my fingers through her hair.

"I was six years old when it happened. She loved animals and traveled around the world to do research for these books she would write. And I guess she went on a trip to Australia, but her plane never landed. Just like that, it disappeared from the radar and it was never found, and neither was she." She says. She stuff hers face into my chest and starts to cry softly.

I stay silent for a moment, shocked at what she just said. I didn't expect something like that to have happened. I can't imagine the pain she and her father must have went through, "I'm so sorry Ally." I whisper into her hair. We stay like that for a long time, and I'm glad I could comfort her.

She eventually sits up, moving the hair from out of her face and wipes her tears off of her cheeks. She sniffles a couple times and smiles, "So, you have a guitar you want to buy, don't you?" She asks, smiling as sincere as she can.

I smile back, "I almost forgot."

Ally stands up and grabs my arm, bringing me down into the store. Her father is running the cash register and waves as she drags me to the guitars. The same one is on display where it always is and as beautiful as ever, "I made my father keep it for you." She says.

I turn and look down at her, "Really, but you didn't know if I'd even win." I say.

"I knew you would." She says, smiling.

I grin widely, "You're amazing." I say, taking the guitar off of the shelf and looking it over.

We walk it over to her dad and his face drops, "What happened to you?" he asks. Crap, I totally forgot about my face.

"I guess I'm a sleepwalker" I say laughing, "I feel down a few stairs last night." I say, shrugging. Well that was a terrible lie.

He raises an eyebrow, "Ouch."

"Austin is here for his guitar." Ally says, changing the subject and pointing to it.

"Ah yes, that's a beautiful instrument. You have good taste." He says.

"Thanks. I'm happy to give you the business too." I say.

"Yeah Ally told me about the contest, congrats!" He says.

I grin, "Thank you."

"Austin also agreed to come with me to the wedding." Ally says.

Her father grins, "Great! It's going to be a good time."

I look at Ally beside me, "I'm sure it is."

**Author's Note:**

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! And i'm sorry if i ever mentioned Ally's mother in other chapters, if so, i forgot. I tend to do that hahaha. Thanks for the reviews! Finally reached 200!


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen:**

"_I think about you."_

It's the morning of the wedding, and these past couples of weeks have gone by smoothly. Dallas hasn't come around us, but I still don't trust that he's staying away for good. I mean, it is Dallas that we are talking about.

Ally and I have been closer than ever, but our relationship still hasn't taken the next step. I want to ask her to be my girlfriend, but at the right time, plus I don't really know how she feels about it. I know that she loves me and everything, but I don't know if she wants to be in a new relationship already, or maybe she is just waiting patiently for me to ask her out. Ugh, this stuff is way too complicated.

I stare at my dress clothes that are lying on my bed. It should really be against the law to wear long dress pants and shirt to a wedding that's on a beach. I'm going to be sweating before it even starts. But I'll deal with it because I know how much this day means to Ally. It means a lot to me too. I like that her family likes me, and I don't want to disappoint them in any way.

I slip on my black dress pants and then my white long sleeved shirt. As I'm buttoning it up, my phone goes off. I walk over to my bedside table and read the text from Ally: _Are you getting ready? I can't wait to see you, today is going to be amazing! _I smile as I read it. I reply to her and continue to get ready.

When my clothes are all situated, I attempt to make my mess of blonde hair a little less of a mess. It doesn't really work though and I shrug at myself in the mirror. Ally likes me the way I am, and that's all that matters. I'm just glad that my bruise is only small now. I can play it off like a surfboard to the face accident now. I spray on some axe and grab my phone before going downstairs.

My parents are both gone, so I walk into the kitchen and grab a bottle of water and take a seat in my living room. Ally and her father are going to be here any minute. The wedding is in a few hours but they want to get there as early as possible.

I hear a horn beep outside, so I stand up and grab the house keys before going out the door. I lock my door and walk over to my driveway, where a beautiful red comfortable is parked. Ally is beaming from the driver's and I raise an eyebrow, "What's going on?" I ask.

"It's my aunt Helen's. She's letting me borrow it for the day." She says.

I get in the passenger seat and grin at her, "She is way too awesome." I tell her. I look her up and down in her beautiful blue dress. It's tight on the top and then it flows on the bottom. Her hair is in loose curls with a white flower behind her ear; she looks absolutely gorgeous.

"And another thing, we aren't going to the wedding just yet." She says, smirking.

"So I got dressed in these nice clothes early for nothing?" I groan.

"Oh stop your whining." She says, laughing, "I'm in my nice clothes too."

"And you look breathtaking." I say.

She blushes, "Thanks."

"You know, this convertible is going to mess up my hair that I tried so hard to tame today." I say, patting it down as she pulls out of the driveway.

"So where are we going?" I ask her.

She shrugs, "Just on a scenic route. My dad hardly ever lets me drive his car because he always has it so this is my chance to finally drive." She says.

"Well, don't crash or anything." I tell her.

She rolls her eyes, "Yes of course Mr. Moon. I'd never." She says in a terrible British accent.

"Yeah, I don't think you should talk like that ever again." I say, laughing.

"That's not nice!" She says, but laughs with me.

We finally arrive at the wedding spot. Dozens of people are sitting down or standing in front of their seats and talking with each other. A lot of heads turn when we pull in. It was a beautiful car, after all. But Ally's father looked nervous and then relieved when we pulled in. I jump over the door as I get out and Ally shakes her head at me, "What if you would have fallen or something and got dirty?" She asks.

"Ally, I'm Austin Moon. I never fail." I say, laughing.

I walk up to her and put my arm around her shoulder as we walk over to her father and our seats. Her family from the picnic all looks our way and whisper to each other. Well, the last time they saw us we were just friends, which we still pretty much are… except for the fact we have kissed and said we love each other.

"Hello Austin." Her father says to me as I take my seat beside Ally.

I nod, "Mr. Dawson."

"How was the ride here?" Helen squeals as she walks over to us. Ally stands up and hugs her tightly, "It was great! Thank you so much!"

I stand back up and grin at her, "Hello Helen."

"It is so nice to see you again Austin!" She says, grinning. She pats my shoulder and looks at Ally. Ally just shakes her head at her and then Helen walks away. I raise an eyebrow at Ally but she just takes her seat next to me.

After mingling for a while, the wedding starts. The groomsmen and the bridesmaids walk down and then the ring bearer and flower girl. The bridesmaid's dresses are yellow and all of the men's tuxes are white. It's all goes really beautiful together with the yellow and white flowers. We all stand as the nervous bride appears. Her dress is really beautiful and she's the same petite size of Ally. I look at Ally and picture her in a wedding dress. Hopefully when Ally walks down that isle, I'll be the nervous groom at the altar, awed by her beauty.

I watch Helen cry her eyes out watching her daughter and the whole moment is just bittersweet. I look down at Ally and she smiles warmly at me. I'm glad I got to share this moment with her. And I can't wait for more moments like this. Any moment I spend with Ally is special, and I hope she realizes that.

When the ceremony is over, we hop back into the convertible and head over to the reception place. Ally doesn't stop talking the whole ride, about the wedding and how much she loved it. I just sat back and watched her talk, smiling the entire time. She stopped at one point and her cheeks turned red, asking what I was staring at.

"Well, this beautiful girl that I am in love with." I say.

She smiles, "Oh Austin."

We arrive at the familiar spot on the beach and I use the door to get out this time. I unbutton the top button my shirt and I already feel a little cooler. We walk over to a table with Ally's father and Helen and wait for the newlyweds to arrive.

"It was a beautiful service." Ally tells Helen.

"Wasn't it?" She says happily.

"It was." I nod.

"Oh look, food!" Ally's father says happily as he heads for the snack table.

Ally and I both laugh and take our seats next to each other. Ally faces me and puts her hand on my knee, "Thank you for coming."

"No problem, I'm glad you invited me." I tell her.

We both lean in to kiss when her father comes back and he clears his throat. We jump back and straighten up in our seats. He smirks and sits down across from us with his mountain of food on a small plate. I look at Ally and frown, she returns it.

The bride and groom finally arrive and take their seats at the wedding party table. Then the best man says his speech, then her father and then Helen. That took up a lot of time, and Ally seemed to still be enjoying herself. Then, after we eat, they cut the cake and smash it into each other's faces, causing everyone to burst out into laughter. It was quite comical actually.

They start blaring music, all different kinds of genres and a lot of older music. They do the whole bride and groom dance, and then the bride and father dance and all that. Wow, there is a lot of stuff that happens at a wedding. I can't imagine how long it must have taken to plan the whole thing. I bet Helen had a lot to do with it because of how proud she has seemed the whole night.

Ally and I are seated at our table, talking about different things while everyone fast danced to the song 'footloose'. I thought it was odd that they were playing it but I guess none of the other guests though that way. They were going insane. Ally laughs at them and looks at me, "I think my dancing would fit in here."

I laugh, "Probably."

"Everyone would think your dancing was weird." She says, laughing.

"Thanks." I say, but I laugh too.

Suddenly, I hear a few people near the door talking loudly. It draws my attention so I look over, and out from the group stumbles a very drunk looking Dallas. I look at Ally and she stares at me with her mouth dropped, "He isn't…" She says.

"I can't believe this." I say, face palming.

Nobody seems to know who he is, I mean they wouldn't. He practically falls on one of Ally's cousins and then tries to straighten up but his clothes are a hot mess. He looks like he has been drinking for hours. I look at Ally and search her face. She sighs, "I forgot he knew about this. He must have figured you came with me." She says.

I stand up in front of Ally as Dallas stumbles over to me. He has a sarcastic grin on his face as he looks me over, "I see your face is healing."

"What the hell are you doing here Dallas?" I say through gritted teeth.

"What's going on here?" Ally's father says as he walks over. He looks Dallas over and his face scrunches up, "You're drunk Dallas, what are you doing here?"

"I just came to talk with your daughter." Dallas slurs.

"Like hell I'm going to let her near you." I spat.

"Oh look Austin the protector!" He yells, drawing everyone's attention to us.

"This is a private wedding and I'm not letting you ruin it. Let's go outside, now." I say.

"Austin…" Ally says, grabbing my arm.

I look down at her, "Its okay."

"Are you sure you can handle this on your own Austin?" Mr. Dawson asks. I nod in response.

"Come on." I say to Dallas. He rolls his eyes and groans but follows me away from the tent and the crowd, near the bathrooms.

"What is your problem?" I ask, even though I already knew.

"You took my girl." He says.

"No, I didn't." I tell him.

He laughs, "You are a sneak and a liar and a girlfriend stealer."

"Well maybe if you knew how to treat a girl you could keep a girlfriend." I say.

Fury rises in his eyes and he takes a swing at me that I dodge quickly. After he hits air, he almost falls flat on his face. I shake my head and try not to laugh at him, "You would be a lot better at this if you weren't so drunk you know." I tell him.

"I'm fine." He says, straightening up and going for a nothing punch.

I simply step out of the way to avoid it and shake my head, "Listen Dallas, just go home."

"Not until I get Ally back." He says.

"You're never getting me back." Ally says, coming up from behind me.

I turn around and eye her, "I said I could handle this." I tell her.

"It's not just your problem to handle Austin." She says softly, standing beside me.

"Ally, I need you." Dallas whispers.

"No, you don't Dallas." She says.

"Why would you do this to me?" He asks.

"I didn't do anything." Ally says.

"You did this, Dallas." I say.

"Shut up!" He says, to both of us.

"Dallas, I know what we had in the beginning was good, but it just went downhill okay? I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Austin, I know I should have but I was scared that you would do this." Ally says.

"Dallas, what happened to my old buddy? You were never like this." I say.

"You were never a true friend! If you were you wouldn't be with her." He says.

"It's not my fault that these feelings developed Dallas." I say.

"Dallas you pushed me away, and didn't treat me like you used to. You know its better this way. And trying to fight Austin all the time isn't going to help." Ally says.

"I think it will." Dallas says, and with that Dallas jumps me.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen:**

"_Nobody rocks it the way that you do." _

He punches me frantically until I punch him on the side of the face, causing him to stumble off of me. I stand up and straighten myself out, thinking this is over. Until I see Dallas pulls out a gun from his jacket pocket. Ally covers her mouth with her hand and I freeze. He shakily points it towards me. I raise my hands up in surrender, "Dallas you don't want to do this."

I watch a thousand emotions run through Dallas' eyes; fear, rage, _craziness._ He keeps it pointed at me and puts his hand on the trigger, "But I think I do." He slurs.

"Dallas… Please." Ally cries.

"Shut up!" he yells.

Afraid he might decide to point his gun at her; I make eye contact and shake my head at her, signaling to be quiet. He looks back at me and tilts his head to the side, "You guys did this to me!"

"Dallas, we didn't do anything. Just put the gun and we can talk about this." I tell him.

"I have nothing to say to you." He says. His finger starts to pull at the trigger when Ally's father appears behind him, with two state troopers. One of them pulls out his gun and points it towards Dallas and yells, "Stop right there!"

Dallas freezes, and slowly turns his head around towards them. "Son, put the gun down." The officer with the gun says.

"Do it, Dallas." I say lowly.

He turns to me, shaking fiercely, with pain in his eyes as he slowly sets the gun down. The other officer comes over and pats him down, handcuffing him. Ally runs over to me and I hug her tightly to me. She sobs into my shirt as her father walks over to us, patting her on the back. The officers grab Dallas and walk him to the police car.

"How'd you know to call the cops?" I ask Mr. Dawson.

"Well, Dallas seemed pretty upset and unstable so I called them just in case, I didn't know anything about the gun. Are you two okay?" He asks, eyeing Ally has she sniffles.

"Yes, just freaked out." I say, running my hands through her hair.

One of the police officers came back and talked with us. We told him the story of us and how Dallas has been acting lately. He told us that they are going to take Dallas in to custody for having the gun and threatening me. But he's not sure where he will end up. Ally was quiet most of the time, so I did all of the talking.

After what seemed like the longest night ever, i go home with Ally and hangout with her in her room for a while. Her father gave me permission to stay with her until she fell asleep, but then I had to go home. I sit patiently at the end of the bed while she showers and gets into her pajamas. I look over her walls full of posters of different singers and actors. You can barely see any of her blue walls.

She walks into the room in a baggy tee shirt and short shorts, her hair still in a towel. She walks over to her dresser and sits in front of it, staring at her reflection in the mirror with a blank expression. I watch her for a few moments before walking over and standing behind her.

She notices me in the mirror and gives me a small smile. I rest my hand gently on her shoulder, "Are you okay?" I ask.

She nods, "Yes. Just, I can't believe Dallas would pull a gun on you." She says quietly.

"I know. Neither can I honestly." I tell her.

She stands up and lets her hair out of the towel. I walk back over to her bed and watch her brush her hair. She looks so beautiful and innocent. She really is everything I've ever wanted. She catches me staring at her and I blush. She smirks and sets her brush down. She walks over to me and sits down.

"I can't stop thinking about seeing him point a gun towards you. I can't imagine what I'd do if something bad happened to you, especially if it was my fault." She says.

"Well nothing happened, and if something did, it wouldn't have been your fault."

"But if I would have just done things differently, Dallas wouldn't have snapped." She says, sighing after.

"You don't know that though. This could have been something has been boiling up in him for a long time."

"I don't think so… I know Dallas and he wouldn't just pull a gun on someone." She says.

"He had been drinking too, that probably had something to do with it." I tell her.

She sighs yet again, "I just want this nightmare to be over."

I wrap my arm around her cautiously, "I think it is. He will probably be in juvi for a little bit and maybe something will change in him."

"Do you really think so?" She asks, looking up at me with eyes full of desperation.

"I sure hope so." I tell her.

She moves out of my arm and lies down on her pillow, grabbing a blanket and lying it on top of her, "Are you going to stay here until I fall asleep?"

"Of course I am." I say, smiling at her.

She smiles back and nods, "Good."

I move over and sit right beside her. She looks at me and smiles, "I'm really glad I have you."

"So am I." I tell her. She grabs my hand and squeezes it lightly, but doesn't let go. I rub her thumb with mine until she eventually falls asleep peacefully.

I hated to leave her, I wanted to stay there, lay with her and wrap my arms around her so she'd feel safe and protected. But unfortunately I made a deal with her father, and I didn't want him to hate me before I even go to date her.

**Author's Note:**

Here is a short chapter to let you all know I haven't given up. And thank you so much for still reading! It means so much! Just I've been going through some things this past month so I haven't been in the writing mood. Enjoy. ALSO a big shout out to Serendipulous, she really helped me with ideas when i was stuck with this, so check out her stories, she's great :)


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